GIFT  OF 


<v 


y 


This  has  continued,  at  irregular  intervals,  up  to 
the  present  time,  and  it  is  from  this  accumulation 
of  writings  that  "Sifted  Thru"  has  been  sifted. 

The  majority  of  the  writers  I  never  met  in 
flesh  and  blood;  and,  altho  many  of  them  were 
well-known  writers,  I  was  unfamiliar  with  their 
writings.  In  many  instances  I  saw  the  writer  as 
plainly  as  I  would  see  any  one  in  the  physical 
body;  while,  at  other  times,  I  saw  the  writing 
only. 

The  object  in  submitting  these  communications 
to  the  public  is  three-fold:  First, 'to  convey  to 
those  who  are  ready  to  receive  it,  a  plain,  sensible 
idea  of  after-death  conditions,  which  must  of 
necessity  vary  according  to  individual  enlighten- 
ment, influenced  by  selfish  or  unselfish  aims,  de- 
sires and  purposes; 

Second,  to  convey  the  truth,  that  the  expres- 
sion of  life,  immediately  following  death,  is  not 
affected,  so  far  as  character  goes,  and  the  compre- 
hension of  life's  purposes  and  problems,  by  the 
event  called  death,  and  to  let  it  be  known  that 
this  "next  plane"  is  still  the  earth  plane,  only  in 
finer  vibrations; 

Third,  that  a  Christ-like  self-renunciation,  in 
loving  service  for  the  betterment  of  all  humanity, 
is  the  only  way  to  Heaven,  and  that  Love  Divine 
the  only  Light  which  will  never  fail. 

"Sifted  Through,"  by  Mrs.  I.  L.  Bentley,  is  a 
book  containing  a  remarkable  message  for  the 
world  of  today.  Together  with  specially  designed 
and  beautifully  bound  covers,  it  may  be  an  ideal 
gift  "book  for  a  friend  or  loved  one. 
Price,  postpaid,  $1.05 

I.  L.  BENTLEY 

2500  Beachwood  Drive  Los  Angeles,  Calif. 


Sifted  Through 

Communications  from  the  Invisible  Side 
of  Earth  Life  as  Received 

By 
IDA  LEWIS  BENTLEY 


Published  by 

J.  F.  ROWNY  PRESS 

Los  Angeles,  Cal. 

1920 


Gift 


DEDICATION 

THIS   LITTLE   BOOK   OF   COMMUNI- 
CATIONS   FROM    THE    INVISIBLE    SIDE 

OF  INFINITE  LIFE,  is  MOST  LOVINGLY 

DEDICATED,  AS  A  WELL-EARNED  TRIB- 
UTE, TO  MY  SISTER  AND  CO-WORKER 
IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  TRUTH — ELLA 

GERTRUDE  SMITH. 

IDA  LEWIS  BENTLEY. 


FOKEWORD 

N  THE  turmoil  and  tumult  of  present-day  condi- 
tions, every  thoughtful  person  views  with  con- 
cern and  approval  any  avenue  which  assumes  to 
answer  the  questions  of  a  perplexed  world  or  to  lead 
humanity  out  of  darkness  into  light. 

Just  in  proportion  as  death  has  been  to  mankind,  its 
great  unillumined  problem,  so  has  mankind  grasped  at 
every  suggestion  of  actual  guidance  in  its  solution. 

The  recent  years,  whose  events  have  so  amazingly 
rent  the  veil  between  the  visible  and  the  invisible,  have 
revealed  the  enlightening  processes  of  great  sorrow.  It 
is  well  that  this  is  so,  for  by  this  means  will  the  balance 
be  hung  true.  <3 

Notwithstanding  the  sincere  efforts  which  are  being 
made  in  every  direction  to  assist  in  world  problems,  one 
lamentable  lack  is  overwhelmingly  apparent.  This  is 
best  defined  as  a  lack  of  a  sense  of  individual  responsi- 
bility as  to  conditions  and  their  adjustment. 

The  "Dhammapada,"  or  "Path  of  Virtue, "  one  of 
the  most  practical  ethical  handbooks  of  Buddhism,  con- 
tains the  following  great  sentences: 

"Earnestness  is  the  path  of  immortality,  thoughtless- 
ness the  path  of  death.  Those  who  are  in  earnest  do  not 
die,  those  who  are  thoughtless  are  as  if  dead  already. " 

The  Christian  Scriptures  contain  this  ringing  chal- 
lenge. "The  last  enemy  to  be  destroyed  is  Death." 
Obviously,  Death  may  be  both  literal  and  figurative.  Its 
mastery  must  be  in  its  figurative  state  before  it  can 
ever  hope  to  be  literal. 

Selfishness  is  death!  It  may  well  be  that  selfishness 
is  the  last  great  enemy  to  be  destroyed.  Selfishness  pre- 
vents the  soul  from  attacking  such  problems  as  indi- 
vidual responsibility.  The  clarion  call  of  the  ever- 
present  moment  is  for  the  soul,  sufficiently  strong,  to 
abandon  the  pettiness  of  self-interest,  the  meagerness 
of  self -protection  and,  by  the  power  of  the  living  Christ, 
accept  the  grave  and  glorious  responsibility  of  giving 
the  high  message  of  the  beacon  light  of  the  ages. 

SUZANNE  DEAN. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

LAW — A  POEM    -  9 

FROM  DARKNESS  TO  LIGHT  11 

THE  PROPHECY  16 

THE  POWER  OF  LOVE  19 

SOWING  AND  REAPING  26 

THE  STORY  OP  JOHN  AUGUSTINE  32 

MY  SEARCH  FOR  TRUTH  45 

THE  REALMS  OF  DARKNESS  55 

MY  VISION  (A  SYMBOLIC  VISION)  59 

THE  DREAM  THAT  is  NOT  ALL  A  DREAM  63 

A  RAINY  DAY     -  73 

TRUTH  AND  MY  CREED  78 

THE  MOON  AND  THE  BUDDHA  TREE  86 

I  FIND  THE  ANGELS     -  92 

ONE  CLERGYMAN'S  EXPERIENCES  99 

ASTRAL  PLANE  EXPERIENCE  108 

OBSESSION  115 

A  CONNECTICUT  YANKEE  121 

AT  LAST — A  POEM     -  130 


LAW 

Can  the  high-tide  leave  the  ocean? 

Or  the  billows  fail  the  sand? 
When  the  full  moon  sails  the  heavens, 

Led  by  Law's  unerring  hand? 

"Will  the  rose  forget  its  blooming, 

If  no  loving  eye  should  fall 
On  its  fragrant,  witching  beauty, 

Hiding  in  the  cold  gray  wall? 

Will  the  lark  forget  its  fledglings, 

Or  the  robin  cease  to  nest, 
If  the  storm  should  gather  darkly 

Round  the  distant  mountain's  crest? 

Do  the  trees  forget  to  blossom, 

When  the  white  mists  weave  their  pall? 
Have  the  ripened  leaves  of  autumn 

Ever  once  refused  to  fall? 

If  your  heart-aches  and  your  sorrows 
Should  arise  a  mountain  high, 

Still  the  sun  would  climb  the  heavens 
And  its  glory  fill  the  sky. 

Lo,  the  crashing  of  the  thunder 

Ever  speaks  of  danger  past, 
Ne'er  does  it  precede  the  coming 

Of  the  lightning's  baleful  shaft. 


10  LAW 

Never  will  the  starlight,  gleaming 

On  the  river 's  rushing  tide, 
See  it  bounding  madly  backward 

To  the  rugged  mountain  side. 

Moonlight,  starlight,  blooming,  dying, 
Summer's  sun  or  winter's  blast, 

Weeping,  laughing,  hating,  loving, 
Lo !  the  Law  doth  hold  thee  fast ! 

Child  of  earth,  arise !  awaken ! 

Destiny  and  thee  are  one. 
Thou  alone  can  free  or  fetter, 

Speed  or  halt  the  journey  run. 

Earth  may  reel  and  mountains  crumble, 

And  the  angry  surges  roar, 
Love  shall  give  thee  fearless  pinions, 

Love  shall  open  Heaven's  door. 

Let  no  witching  song  beguile  thee 
From  the  Truth  which  God  has  given ; 

Love  Divine,  thy  mighty  Savior, 
Love,  thy  only  hope  of  Heaven. 

Wouldst  thou  find  thy  long-sought  Heaven  ? 

Wouldst  thou  gain  some  distant  Aiden  1 
Wouldst  thou  find  some  sainted  maiden 

Whom  the  angels  long  have  claimed? 
Wouldst  thou  find  life's  dearest  treasure, 

Which  thy  soul  alone  hath  named? 
Give  thy  love  in  fullest  measure, 

Pour  it  freely,  o'er  and  o'er, 
And  thy  soul  from  out  earth's  shadows 

Shall  be  lifted  evermore ! 

—P. 


CHAPTER  I 
FROM  DARKNESS  TO  LIGHT 

HERE  are  a  few  points  I  wish  to  make.  I  have 
been  here  almost  seven  years;  and  since  I  got 
over  my  hours  of  suffering,  questioning  and  won- 
dering why — wondering  why  I  could  not  have  seen 
things  in  their  true  light,  while  I  was  in  the  body,  and, 
seeing,  have  changed  my  whole  life  history?  Wonder- 
ing why  you  had  to  suffer  so,  and  why  I  had  no  power 
to  help  you?  This  Why  business  never  gets  anyone 
anywhere  that  he  wants  to  go ;  but  when  at  last  the 
Light  did  come  to  me,  and  I  saw  the  real  mission  of 
Christ  in  the  world,  then,  a  Watcher  came  to  my  rescue 
and  I  went  to  work. 

Do  not  feel  badly  if  people  do  refuse  to  believe  my 
message,  or  even  say  spiteful  things  about  it  and  you — 
they  have  always  refused  to  believe  the  best  things  God 
has  ever  sent  thru  His  messengers. 

The  people  of  earth  have  always  wanted  something 
mysterious  and  hard  to  understand,  and  when  mental 
difficulties  and  sorrows  have  overtaken  them,  they  have 
doubted  still  more  the  beautiful  things,  and  cursed,  or 
denied,  the  God  who  had  lovingly  made  things  so  easy, 
they  would  not  see.  This  crops  out  in  us  when  we  refuse 
to  appreciate  the  love  and  beauty  that  is  all  around  us 
every  day,  until  we  find  ourselves  bereft  of  it,  and  then, 
we  know  how  beautiful  were  the  toil-worn  hands  that 
ministered  unto  us,  and  how  great  the  love  that  kept 
the  tired  feet  going. 

11 


•.- 


12  SIFTED  THROUGH 

Try  and  teach  people  that  wrong-doing  brings  suffer- 
ing, and  all  the  affirmations  in  the  world  will  not  save 
them  from  it.  A  very  selfish  person  never  dbes  right; 
such  a  thing  is  impossible,  and  pure  selfishness  is  more 
often  the  prime  factor  in  affirmations  than  otherwise. 

Those  who  have  earned  suffering  will  surely  get  it, 
and,  if  by  some  hook  or  crook,  one  dodges  it  while  in  the 
physical  body,  he  will  suffer  here,  and  suffering  is  much 
more  keenly  felt  here. 

As  a  person  vibrating  upon  the  material  plane  and, 
unable  to  rise  beyond  the  material  plane  consciousness, 
is  unable  to  comprehend  this  finer  plane  consciousness, 
so  a  person  here  who  knows  nothing  of  the  earth  plane 
experiences  would  not  be  able  to  understand  a  great 
many  of  the  coarser,  heavier  vibrations  of  materiality. 
You  know  how  sensitive  I  always  was  to  suffering  and 
cruelty  in  any  form,  especially  if  associated  with  blood- 
shed; even  now,  I  recall  vividly  some  of  my  pet  hens 
that  went  the  way  hens  are  born  to  go  —  but  I  found 
that  I  could  go  into  the  hospitals  and  on  the  battlefield 
and  realize  very  little,  perhaps  none,  of  the  suffering, 
except  mental  suffering;  and  that,  we  the  workers,  were 
keenly  alive  to. 

Awful  as  the  war  has  been,  it  has  worked  an  immense 
amount  of  good;  for  one  thing,  it  has  opened  the  door 
between  the  physical  realm  and  this  finer  realm  wider 
than  it  was  ever  opened  before.  A  great  need  always 
makes  a  great  demand,  which  will  always  connect  with 
the  waiting  supply;  this  is  Law. 

Nothing  is  ever  settled  until  it  is  settled  right,  but  the 
persons  who  do  the  adjusting  must  know  what  right  is, 
and  they  usually  learn  only  through  suffering.  I  once 
found  a  woman  on  her  knees  beside  a  dandelion,  sobbing 
as  if  her  heart  would  break.  I  reached  out  to  her  in 
sympathy,  and  she  told  me  that  she  once  had  a  crippled 
sister  who  loved  the  dandelions,  and  who  would  beg 
her  to  bring  them  in  to  her,  but  she,  thinking  mostly 
of  herself,  had  refused  to  do  so,  because  of  the  litter 


FROM  DARKNESS  TO  LIGHT  13 

they  made;  and  now  that  little  yellow  flower  proved  a 
mirror,  in  which  her  selfishness  was  reflected.  The  little 
sister  had  for  years  been  free  from  earth  conditions,  and 
in  vain  had  the  woman  sought  for  her;  but  now  that 
self -illumination  had  come,  there  was  no  law  against 
their  reunion,  which  one  of  our  messengers  brought  to 
pass. 

You  asked  me  what  constitutes  a  saint,  and  I  asked 
the  same  question  of  one  of  our  Instructors,  and  she 
said,  "Saintship  is  a  degree  of  attainment;  any  person 
whose  life  is  hid  with  Christ  in  God,  or,  in  other  words, 
who  is  in  all  things  dominated  by  Divine  Love,  is  a 
saint."  Beliefs  and  professions  and  strict  adherence 
to  prescribed  forms  and  ceremonies  have  nothing  what- 
ever to  do  with  the  matter. 

You  notice  that  a  great  many  people  speak  of  all  the 
various  Masters,  Teachers,  and  Illumined  ones  as  being 
masculine — I  have  not  found  it  so.  Where  I  have  been, 
I  have  found  as  many  women  as  men  Teachers.  St. 
Paul's  mother  (who  died  at  his  birth)  is  as  great  a 
Teacher  as  he  is — and  that  is  saying  much. 

There  is  an  after-death  condition  which  lies  very  close 
to  the  earth  and  mingles  with  its  lowest  vibrations, 
where  confusion  reigns — bedlam  let  loose,  as  our  father 
would  say — but  upon  all  these  higher  planes  of  expres- 
sion, perfect  order  manifests. 

Yes,  we  sleep,  work,  drink,  bathe  and  eat,  here.  We 
do  not  eat  much  food  and  only  the  kind  we  need.  In 
the  physical  body  people  eat  great  quantities  of  food 
they  do  not  need,  and  Nature  works  so  hard  to  rid 
herself  of  the  surplus,  that  the  individual  is  tired  all 
the  time,  and  incapable  of  doing  his  best.  Here  we 
always  feel  light  and  free  in  all  our  movements,  and 
the  air  around  us  is  just  as  dense  to  our  bodies  as  is 
the  atmosphere  you  are  in,  to  you.  The  difference  lies 
in  the  fact  that  we  are  not  fettered  by  abnormal  or 
surplus  food,  drink,  clothing,  fear  or  race  ideas. 


14  SIFTED  THROUGH 

No,  this  is  not  the  heaven  world,  from  which  it  is  said 
the  soul  descends  to  rebirth  upon  earth. 

Everything  here  is  artistic  and  rhythmic,  and  rhythm 
is  always  constructive.  That  is  why  poetry  and  music 
both  soothe  and  inspire;  rhythm  also  heals,  if  intelli- 
gently employed,  for  it  is  only  when  you  are  out  of 
tune,  that  is,  out  of  rhythm,  that  you  get  tired  and  ill. 

When  a  man  really  prays,  he  enters  into  harmony 
with  the  higher  forces  and  connects  with  them,  and 
when  the  thing  he  prays  for,  under  the  law  of  rhythm 
touches  his  vibrations,  he  gets  it.  That  is  why  Faith 
is  so  important — it  keeps  the  door  open,  so  to  speak,  for 
the  object  prayed  for,  to  enter  in,  when  the  time  comes. 

True  religion  is  rhythmic,  for  all  real  religion  has 
Love  Divine  for  its  basis,  and  Love  Divine  is  rhythm 
in  perfection. 

Of  course  you  know  Who  stands  at  the  head  of  all 
religious  movements,  and  where  I  now  am,  I  should  say 
that  everybody  is  religious,  that  is,  devotional;  and  the 
Master  of  all  religions  comes  here  and  talks  with  us 
freely,  and  we  have  some  of  the  most  beautiful  and 
inspiring  religious  services,  which  lift  us  to  a  plane 
where  wonderful  Beings  can  come  to  us — even  the  Lord 
Christ  Himself  has  vehicles  of  expression  here. 

The  heads  of  every  division  of  earth  activity  are 
devotional :  every  aspiring  soul  is,  and  he  must  recognize 
a  Supreme  Power  and  Entities  of  great  wisdom,  beyond 
himself. 

Aspiration,  that  is,  devotion,  lifts  the  soul  ever  higher 
and  higher,  and  the  higher  in  the  scale  that  one  rises 
the  greater  becomes  his  capacity  for  enjoyment.  It 
is  through  your  finest  faculties  that  you  get  your  great- 
est enjoyment  on  your  physical  plane.  Of  course  if  one 
will  stay  upon  the  swine-plane  of  enjoyment,  he  is  per- 
mitted to  do  so,  but  the  time  has  come  when  every 
swinish  individual  must  speed  up  his  evolutionary 
process  or  be  left  behind  for  the  next  evolutionary 
cycle. 


FROM  DARKNESS  TO  LIGHT  15 

In  regard  to  the  soul-mate  problem,  I  know  very 
little,  but  should  say  that  it  has  a  basis  of  truth.  Long 
ages  ago  all  creatures  contained  within  themselves  both 
sexes.  Sex  is  only  a  matter  of  convenience  in  Nature's 
erreat  plan,  and  it  seems  to  me  we  must  eventually  reach 
hat  goal  when  the  male  and  female  principles  become 
perfectly  balanced  in  us,  in  which  case  we  will  be  soul- 
mated,  or  twin-souled — without  selfishly  absorbing 
another. 

Everything  on  earth  has  its  soul  life,  its  inner  beauty, 
which  very  few  can  recognize  with  their  senses,  and 
much  less  express,  but  here  this  soul  life  is  brought  to 
expression  and  recognition,  and  earth,  air,  fire  and  water 
become  glorified,  and  the  beings  to  which  they  give  life 
are  seen,  heard  and  felt. 

When  the  earth  tree  is  cut  down,  the  real  tree  is  still 
left  standing  in  all  its  beauty  of  form,  or  its  deformity, 
as  may  be.  When  you  pluck  a  rose  you  may  or  may 
not  sever  its  finer  counterpart.  If  you  do  not,  the  rose 
will  fade  very  quickly,  regardless  of  favorable  conditions. 

Flowers  remain  fresh  in  some  homes  much  longer 
than  they  do  in  others,  also  water  keeps  fresh  longer. 
When  the  medicine  men  develop  their  finer  senses,  they 
will  know  that  in  solving  the  disease  problems  they  put 
their  cart  before  the  horse  in  many  cases. 

I  will  tell  you  this  that  I  know — those  people  who 
have  believed  in  God  as  a  gigantic  man,  vastly  better 
than  themselves  when  at  their  best,  are  just  as  well 
off  here  as  those  who  believe  in  no  God,  but  Infinite 
Intelligence  or  Cosmic  Consciousness,  or  Universal  Mind. 
Those  who  have  a  lofty  ideal  personified,  grow  much 
more  rapidly  and  are  much  happier  and  more  depend- 
able. 

The  world  has  always  persecuted,  neglected,  and 
failed  to  appreciate  its  greatest  Teachers,  for  the  world 
cannot  understand  spiritual  things,  and  it  does  not  want 
to  give  up  its  sensual  pleasures;  for  it  does  not  know 
that  the  Spirit  is  unfailing  joy  and  light  and  peace. 

— E.  M.  L. 


CHAPTER  II 
THE  PROPHECY 

.RUNNING  ANTELOPE,  Orator  of  my  people, 
have  received  a  messenger  from  the  Great  Lodge 
of  the  palefaces,  saying:  Behold  my  tribes- 
woman,  Daughter  of  the  Great  Spirit — she  who  hath 
the  far  vision,  and  sitteth  in  the  door  of  the  wigwam 
of  shadows  and  talketh  with  the  big  Chiefs  beyond  the 
door  of  shadows,  desireth  thee  to  prophesy  unto  her,  in 
the  council  room  of  the  Wigwam  of  the  Great  Spirit, 
regarding  her  people. 

This  I  say  unto  thee,  pale  face  daughter  of  mighty 
warriors — the  Great  Spirit  sorroweth  over  His  children, 
for  He  took  this  great  country  from  the  hands  of  the 
Red  men  and  gave  it  to  the  pale  faces,  saying :  ' '  Behold, 
all  this  I  give  unto  thee,  but  see  that  thou  dost  follow 
the  Light,  and  at  evening,  when  the  embers  from  my 
fires  have  ceased  to  glow  red  in  the  west,  let  each  chief 
gather  the  members  of  his  tribe  together. and  each  smoke 
the  peace  pipe  with  his  neighbor,"  but  they  would  not. 
They  forgot  the  words  of  the  Great  Spirit,  and  some 
said  aloud,  "There  is  no  Great  Spirit — no  Great  Wig- 
wam beyond  my  own." 

In  many  ways  hath  the  Great  Spirit  sought  to  warn 
and  counsel  His  children;  He  has  spoken  in  the  voice 
of  the  tempest  that  swoopeth  down  like  a  vulture  that 
seizeth  its  prey  and  droppeth  it  wheresoever  it  will.  He 
has  spoken  in  the  voice  of  the  great  waters,  and  hath 
hurled  them  madly  back  upon  the  wigwams  of  his  chil- 
dren ;  and  against  His  own  mighty  wigwams,  with  their 
fingers  pointing  upward,  He  hath  hurled  His  fiery 

16 


THE  PROPHECY  17 

arrows,  and  the  flames  have  devoured  them;  and  yet 
His  children  have  closed  their  ears  and  heard  not. 

They  have  covered  the  great  plains  where  the  deer 
and  buffalo  once  fed,  with  their  iron  horses,  and  the 
air  is  polluted  with  the  breath  of  their  firewater.  They 
have  laid  low  the  great  trees  of  the  mighty  forests,  and 
have  slain  without  mercy  the  occupants  thereof;  they 
have  burrowed  through  mountains,  and  their  wigwams 
swim  through  the  waters  like  fishes;  they  spread  their 
wings  and  fly  through  the  clouds  beyond  the  strength 
of  the  eagle;  they  have  builded  their  wigwams  with 
bones  of  steel,  and  they  rear  their  heads  proudly  far 
toward  the  heavens,  but  the  strong  have  forgotten  the 
Great  Spirit  and  the  words  He  spake  to  them  in  the 
council  room,  and  they  have  forgotten  to  smoke  the 
peace-pipe  with  their  brothers. 

The  big  Chiefs  of  the  land  wear  costly  blankets  and 
much  wampum,  and  their  brother's  children  cry  for 
bread ;  and  in  the  land  of  plenty  there  is  great  famine, 
and  this  saith  the  Great  Spirit  to  Running  Antelope, 
standing  in  the  doorway  with  his  face  turned  toward  the 
sun:  ''Behold,  my  people  have  grown  mighty  and  they 
wear  their  wampum  and  their  blankets  proudly,  but  I 
see  through  their  wigwams,  and  I  hear  the  cries  of  their 
helpless  ones,  and  their  wampum  is  stained  with  the 
blood  of  the  hungry.  They  have  forsaken  my  counsel 
and  turned  their  faces  away  from  me;  they  have  bred 
wolves  in  their  midst,  and  their  wantonness  hath  pro- 
duced reptiles  and  crawling  things,  and  lo!  that  which 
they  themselves  have  created,  they  shall  themselves  be 
devoured  by." 

And  this  is  the  vision  that  thy  red  brother  seeth: 
Flames  and  smoke  and  the  roar  of  mighty  tempests, 
and  of  mighty  waters  devouring  all  in  their  pathway, 
and  the  land  is  burned  up  and  no  rain  falleth,  and 
the  inhabitants  cry  aloud  for  help ;  and  from  the  depths 
of  sleeping  mountains,  wrapped  in  great  silence,  there 


18  SIFTED  THROUGH 

shall  come  forth  a  mighty  roar  and  the  air  is  rent  with 
the  cries  of  terror,  while  the  earth  staggereth  as  the 
brave,  overfull  of  firewater,  staggereth  when  he  seeketh 
his  wigwam  at  night;  and  from  the  Land  of  Darkness 
shall  come  forth  a  mighty  Warrior,  against  whom  no 
great  Chief  may  hurl  an  arrow,  and  this  Warrior 
entereth  the  great  wigwams  where  the  embroidered 
blankets  and  much  wampum  are  found,  and  he  gather eth 
the  young  braves  from  their  blankets,  and  the  fairest 
maidens  of  their  tribes  he  taketh  with  him;  and  the 
great  Chiefs  and  their  wives  cry  aloud  and  remember 
that  somewhere  it  is  written,  there  is  a  Great  Spirit, 
and  the  sun  of  this  day  descendeth,  and  darkness  broods 
over  the  land.  But  keep  thou,  0  paleface,  who  sitteth 
in  the  doorway  of  shadows,  thy  watch-fires  burning 
brightly  before  thy  people,  until  the  sun  of  tomorrow 
dawns,  when  Running  Antelope,  the  Orator  of  his  tribe, 
hopeth  to  greet  thee  in  the  presence  of  the  Great  Chief, 
the  Father  of  all,  sendeth. 


CHAPTER  III 
THE  POWER  OF  LOVE 

STOOD  beside  the  main  entrance  of  a  large  tent 
and,  with  many  others,  gazed  at  the  scene  before 
me. 

A  woman  was  talking — tremblingly,  brokenly;  she  was 
telling  the  people  how  she  had  found  her  Savior,  and 
had  been  lifted  up,  from  sin  and  shame  and  suffering, 
to  peace  and  rest  and  joy.  She  spoke  of  the  Love — 
the  wondrous  Love  that  could  embrace  one  as  vile  as 
herself;  that  could  ease  her  pain,  and  in  the  midst  of 
blackest  poverty,  make  her  forget  herself  in  light  and 
joy. 

Thus  the  woman,  in  broken  sentences,  poured  out  her 
very  soul,  with  a  power  that  touched  the  hearts  of  those 
who  listened,  until  a  fit  of  coughing  stopped  her. 

A  woman  of  the  street  dying  of  tuberculosis,  had 
found  Heaven  in  the  very  heart  of  Hell.  One  by  one 
they  followed  her,  these  reclaimed  ones,  drunkards,  dope- 
fiends,  liars,  thieves,  wantons — poor  outcasts,  wretches 
that  no  decent  person  dare  take  into  his  home — all  tell- 
ing the  Story — filthy  diseases  washed  away  and  joy 
they  could  not  express,  filling  their  souls  to  overflowing. 

They  told  of  broken  vows  fulfilled,  of  character  re- 
claimed, of  cruelty  changed  to  kindness.  There  was 
much  singing  and  shouting,  and  the  scene  impressed  me 
greatly. 

A  man  standing  near  me  said,  "A  mighty  Power  is 
demonstrating  here  tonight — what  is  the  Power,  do  you 
know?" 

19 


20  SIFTED  THROUGH 

"I  do  not  know,"  I  said  frankly,  "it  cannot  be  fear, 
for  there  is  no  evidence  of  that." 

"You  cannot  scare  a  man  by  threatening  him  with  hell, 
when  deep  in  his  heart  he  knows  he  is  already  in  it — 
no,  fear  has  not  wrought  these  miracles — are  you  sure 
you  do  not  know?" 

Halls  and  rooms  full  of  well-dressed,  well-fed,  intel- 
lectually self-satisfied  sinners,  came  crowding  in  upon 
my  memory ;  sinners  who  were  not  yet  awakened  to  the 
fact,  that  the  sins  which  cause  the  deepest  suffering  do 
not  fall  under  the  "Thou-shalt-nots"  of  the  Ten  Com- 
mandments. There  was  also  always  a  generous  sprinkling 
of  Ten  Commandment  sinners,  who  had  not  been  guilty 
of  being  discovered,  and  were  still  on  familiar  terms 
with  the  wealthy  class. 

But  these  people  who  came  to  me — they  did  not  go 
awav  repentant  of  wrong-doing  and  resolved  to  lead 
useful  and  honorable  lives,  in  place  of  their  idle,  frivo- 
lous ones;  and,  if  there  were  any  broken-hearted,  they 
went  away  as  they  came. 

Long  lines  of  figures  and  zodiacal  signs  danced  before 
my  eyes,  but  I  pushed  them  away,  so  to  speak,  as  so 
much  waste  paper.  I  felt  suddenly  as  if  the  bottom 
had  dropped  out  from  under  me,  and  the  one  thing  most 
needful  I  had  missed. 

I  turned  to  the  man  who  had  spoken  to  me  and  said, 
"I  wish  I  knew." 

"Was  there  nothing  in  all  your  teachings  that  caused 
a  man  to  right  about  face?"  said  the  stranger  kindly. 

"0,  yes,"  I  replied,  eagerly,  "I  have  seen  the  weak- 
willed  grow  strong-willed,  and  the  undecided  grow  de- 
cided and  self-reliant." 

"I  have  seen  cattle  do  that,  when  they  saw  a  green 
field  before  them,"  said  a  man's  voice  back  of  me. 

I  stood  silent  and  convicted.  Yes,  all  of  this  trans- 
forming thought  power  I  had  taught  and  used,  had 
been  utilized  on  the  material  plane  to  gratify  selfish 
desires.  The  bodily  senses,  pride,  ambition,  vanity — 


THE  POWER  OF  LOVE  21 

all  had  played  as  important  factors,  in  demonstrations 
that  we  had  recognized  with  so  much  joy.  No,  it  was 
not  the  same  Power  I  was  seeing  demonstrated  here 
before  me,  for  this  Power  was  working  against  the  selfish 
instincts,  desires  and  appetites. 

The  people  began  to  sing,  "I  love  to  tell  the  story  of 
unseen  things  above,  of  Jesus  and  His  Glory,  of  Jesus 
and  His  Love."  I  looked  up  at  the  stranger  and  said, 
' '  No,  I  do  not  understand  this  at  all.  I  do  not  believe  in 
the  literal  interpretation  of  that  New  Testament  story. 
While  I  acknowledge  frankly  there  is  something  here 
that  my  experiences  with  psychology  and  thought  force 
do  not  explain,  I  cannot  see  how  this  myth,  beautiful 
as  in  some  ways  it  is" 

The  stranger  stopped  me,  * '  Can  anything  beautiful  be 
untrue  1  Can  power  ever  be  anything  else  than  power  ? 
Sister,  one  thing  only  thou  lackest:  Love." 

The  stranger  vanished.  I  felt  alone,  desolate,  help- 
less, blind.  I  clutched  at  what  I  thought  was  a  tree, 
but  there  was  nothing  there.  I  went  a  little  way,  and 
sat  down  upon  a  rock — it  crumbled  into  nothingness 
under  me.  From  somewhere  came  the  sound  of  music, 
a  heavenly  voice  chanted,  ''Though  I  speak  with  the 
tongues  of  men  and  of  angels,  and  have  not  Love,  I  am 
but  sounding  brass  and  clanging  cymbal." 

I  sprang  to  my  feet — "0,  God,  give  me  this  Love!" 
I  cried. 

A  boy  blowing  a  little  tin  horn  went  by  me.  "That 
is  just  what  I  did,"  I  sobbed,  "and  I  thought  it  was 
angels'  music."  I  covered  my  face  for  very  shame. 

One  of  the  smartest  things  I  ever  did,  from  my  own 
point  of  view,  was  to  demonstrate  that  I  could  drink 
coffee  and  not  have  a  raging  headache  follow  it.  0 !  the 
time,  strength,  effort,  I  put  into  acquiring  the  ability  to 
pamper  my  appetite  contrary  to  the  Law  of  my  being, 
and  then  say  to  those  who  admired  or  envied  me,  "Behold 
me — the  great  victorious  warrior ! ' '  Oh,  how  small,  con- 
temptible it  all  seemed. 


22  SIFTED  THROUGH 

I  hurried  blindly  on,  away — somewhere — anywhere. 
I  paused  and  looked  about  me.  Far  up  a  wild  and 
rugged  mountain  I  stood,  where  gigantic  rocks  had  been 
torn  from  the  bowels  of  the  mountains  by  some  incon- 
ceivable upheaval — and  caves,  and  grottos,  and  altars, 
were  all  about  me.  I  was  conscious  that  I  stood  where 
a  white  woman  in  flesh  and  blood  had  never  stood.  1 
saw  before  me  images — horrible  objects  carved  rudely 
from  stone — savage  man's  ideas  of  powers  above  and 
beyond  himself,  they  were ;  but  one  among  them  all  fired 
and  held  my  attention.  Crude  and  ugly  it  was,  but 
its  ugliness  was  clothed  in  a  robe  of  rosy  light,  and 
its  brow  was  wreathed  with  blue  and  white  forget-me- 
nots. 

A  woman  lay  exhausted  upon  the  stones  before  it,  and 
her  sad  eyes  were  fixed  imploringly  upon  its  outstretched 
arms — it  was  the  God  of  Love. 

In  all  the  Himalayas  it  was  the  only  object  her  poor 
bleeding  heart  could  cling  to  with  lovinsr  confidence; 
it  personified  the  only  One  who  could  understand  and 
sympathize. 

"0,  yes,"  I  cried,  " there  is  something  there — the 
outer  or  visible  form  and  appearance  does  not  matter — 
it  is  the  something  that  the  soul  is  conscious  of. ' '  Mem- 
ory suddenlv  produced  some  long-forgotten  words  from 
the  Norse:  "Beautiful  Baldar,  the  gentle  hearted. " 

Yes,  in  every  land  and  clime,  amonof  all  peoples,  every 
nation,  kindred  and  tongue — the  idea,  more  or  les-s 
clearly  defined,  has  been  entertained,  of  some  beneficent 
Power — tender,  sympathetic,  self-sacrificing,  loyal,  for- 
giving, patient  and  true. 

Oh,  how  they  stand  out — the  great  souls  of  earth,  who 
have  forsaken  all  for  the  sake  of  unerrateful  humanity ; 
who  have  lived  and  suffered  and  died  and,  triumphant 
in  death,  have  still  gone  on  giving  their  lives  to  the 
world  and  its  work. 

"I  can  see  it,"  I  cried,  "I  can  see  that  it  is  Love 


THE  POWER  OF  LOVE  23 

that  wins,  that  lifts  upward,  transforms,  comforts  and 
strengthens. ' ' 

I  went  to  where  my  dark-skinned  sister  was  lying,  on 
the  rocks  before  the  image,  and  prostrated  myself  beside 
her.  ''0,  God,"  I  cried,  brokenly,  " reveal  to  me  this 
Love  Divine,  transform  me,  lift  me  up  and  strengthen 
me  for  service ! ' ' 

I  felt  a  presence  and  looked  up;  the  man  who  had 
stood  beside  me  in  the  tent  door  now  stood  before  me, 
but  so  transformed  in  his  shining  robe  of  white  that 
only  my  inner  self  could  have  recognized  him.  ' '  Sister, ' ' 
he  said  gently,  "  crude  as  that  image  with  its  wide- 
extended  arms  is,  it  suggests  even  to  you,  a  tender, 
sympathetic,  aZZ-embracing  Love,  and  before  that  Love 
you  bow,  humbly  praying  that  it  fill  yourself  with  its 
Self,  and  why?  Because  you  recognize  that  it  is  the 
Power  that  alone  can  satisfy  your  highest  aspirations; 
because  the  soul  knows  it  is  the  goal  toward  which  it 
tends,  the  Ultimate — the  One  Reality — the  Life  Ever- 
lasting— the  One  Light.  Tens  of  thousands  of  human 
beings  bow  before  the  image  of  Lord  Gautama — the 
blessed  Buddha — this  morning.  Why  is  he  blessed? 
Because  he  is  illumined.  What  illumined  him?  Love 
Divine.  It  is  the  only  power  that  can  illumine,  and  it 
is  the  Love  he  represents  that  draws  his  followers  and 
binds  them  to  him.  Tender,  compassionate,  understand- 
ing all,  forgiving  all.  0,  Light  of  Asia,  these  snow- 
capped mountains  shall,  ere  long,  echo  to  the  sound  of 
thy  returning  footfalls!  Then  those  of  thy  people  who 
have  worshiped  the  Light  and  Truth  that  radiated 
through  thee,  and  not  the  outer  form  of  it,  shall  rejoice 
greatly.  From  Greenlands  icy  mountains  to  India's 
coral  strands,  yea,  far  beyond  to  the  desert's  sand,  and 
lonely  isles  amid  the  ocean's  waves,  the  Cross  is  gleam- 
ing in  the  light  of  this  morning's  sun;  not  the  cross  of 
the  Norseland,  not  the  cross  of  ancient  Egypt,  but  the 
Cross  of  Calvary;  and  what  does  that  emblem  mean, 
my  Sister!  Love,  Love  Divine.  The  Love  that  is  all- 


24:  SIFTED  THROUGH 

embracing,  the  Love  that  brings  peace  and  rest  and 
joy  to  the  soul  of  the  vilest  sinner  of  all  sinners;  the 
Love  that  sees  no  sin,  only  the  experiences  along  the 
pathway  that  every  soul  must  learn  through  suffering. 

0,  Man  of  Calvary,  Light  of  the  World — soon  the 
people  of  earth  shall  hear  the  sound  of  Thy  footsteps 
and  Thy  Voice,  once  more,  amid  the  angry  clash  of 
warring  tongues,  and  above  the  din  of  battle.  Then 
those  of  Thy  people  who  have  worshiped  the  Light,  the 
Love  that  radiated  through  Thee,  and  not  the  outer 
form  of  Thee,  shall  welcome  Thee  with  great  joy.  How 
long,  0  my  people,"  cried  the  radiant  One,  stretching 
out  his  arms  to  the  valleys,  still  enwrapped  in  darkness, 
"will  it  be  before  you  learn  to  know  that  when  the 
Infinite  manifests,  He  can  make  Himself  known  to  your 
consciousness  only  through  form ;  but  it  is  not  the  form, 
but  the  Power  which  clothed  Itself  in  form,  that  is  the 
One  Reality." 

A  shaft  of  sunlight  touched  the  snowy  top  of  the 
gigantic  mountain  above  me,  and  fell  in  a  glittering 
flood  of  light  ov?r  me.  My  heavenly  helper  had  vanished. 

Now  I  know  this  all-embracing  Love.  I  see  a  new 
heaven  and  a  new  earth.  Within  me  it  cries,  *  *  /  am  the 
resurrection  and  the  life!  I  am  the  Bread  of  Life  and 
the  Water  of  Life,  and,  if  any  man  eat  and  drink  of  Me, 
he  shall  hunger  and  thirst  no  more. ' ' 

I  embrace  my  fellow  beings,  one  with  me,  God's  own 
beloved;  blind  perhaps,  deaf  perhaps,  ignorant  perhaps 
— like  the  little  child  that  has  not  yet  learned  that  fire 
will  burn,  and  then  in  its  resentment  at  the  suffering 
the  knowledge  has  cost  him,  strikes  at  the  flame  and 
burns  himself  still  more. 

"I  am  the  Love,"  says  the  Infinite,  "that  loves  that 
child,  be  he  old  or  young,  in  the  days  that  man  counts 
years.  I  am  the  Love  that  stays  the  hand  of  the  slayer  and 
cries,  Oh,  cause  not  needless  suffering ;  pause  and  think. 
I  look  from  the  eyes  of  that  bird,  and  sing  in  his  won- 
drous song.  I  hold  back  the  hand  of  the  money-mad 


THE  POWER  OP  LOVE  25 

destroyer.  I  cry,  woodman  spare  that  tree!  take  not 
unnecessarily  the  form  my  life  is  manifesting  in.  I 
pick  up  the  crushed  and  droopy  flowers  that  man,  in 
his  mad  haste — for  what? — has  trampled  on  as  weeds. " 
"A  bruised  reed  He  shall  not  break  and  smoking  flax 
He  shall  not  quench." 

0  my  beloved,  ponder  well  the  mystic  meaning  of 
those  words,  and  may  the  Love  that  has  in  infinite  ways 
been  manifesting  through  the  ages  long,  fill  your  souls 
with  Its  unquenchable  flame — so  shall  joy  unspeakable 
and  the  peace  that  passes  understanding  be  yours  forever 
more.  — E.  K. 


CHAPTER  IV 
SOWING  AND  REAPING 

S  YE  sow,  so  shall  ye  reap" — thinkest  thou,  0 
man,  to  escape  a  Law  that  changest  not?  The 
Law  that  holdeth  thee  in  its  grasp  from  the 
cradle  to  the  grave,  and  from  beyond  to  the  cradle  again 
— the  cradle  thou  didst  weave  for  thyself  from  brambles 
and  thorns,  or  from  golden  threads,  or  iron  links. 

Day  after  day  thou  dost  come  to  school,  until  the 
lessons  of  earth  are  learned.  Seekest  thou  to  escape 
the  irksome  task  the  Almighty  has  set  for  thee?  Thou 
shalt  prove  every  sum  thou  addest,  until  thou  addest 
aright.  The  Law  of  the  Harvest  Field  compellest  every 
one  to  reap  the  harvest  he  himself  has  sown.  Hast  thou 
thought  only  of  thyself  as  thou  hast  journeyed  along 
life's  pathway?  Remember,  that  if  thou  hast  thought 
first  of  thyself  always,  thou  hast  thought  only  of  thyself, 
the  self  that  must  perish  with  all  it  calls  its  own. 

0  darkest  hour  of  my  darkest  night, 
Was  the  hour  I  stood  with  myself  alone ; 
Where  back  of  me  rolled  the  haunted  years, 
And  specters  mocked  in  my  blinding  tears, 
And  taunted  me  with  my  fearsome  plight, 
When  I  stood  with  myself  alone! 

Talk  ye  of  a  God  of  Love? 
What,  I  ask  of  thee,  is  love? 

When  thou  knowest  within  thine  own  soul  what  Love 
is,  then  thou  wilt  know  the  One  True  God,  Whom  to 


SOWING  AND  REAPING  27 

know  is  life  eternal.  When  within  thine  own  soul  thou 
dost  know  a  changeless  love,  always  patient,  tender,  free 
from  self-seeking,  uninfluenced  by  the  words  and  con- 
duct of  others,  and  moving  on  like  the  sun  in  the 
heavens — content  to  give,  then  thou  hast  passed  the 
necessity  of  birth  and  death,  and  dost  indeed  know 
eternal  life. 

What  is  this  that  man  calls  death  ? 
Freedom  from  his  mortal  breath  ? 
0  vain  man  from  Truth  secluded ! 
0  vain  man  by  self  deluded ! 
Will  the  crow  the  lark's  song  sing? 
Or  the  Ice  King  roses  bring? 
Will  the  purple  grapes  entwine 
From  the  heart  of  eglantine? 

Nay,  no  apotheosis  came 
To  relieve  me  of  my  shame, 
And  I  gained  no  heavenly  shore 
From  the  streets  of  Baltimore. 

It  was  a  prescience  of  the  reaping  time  and  what  it 
must  inevitably  bring  to  me,  that  caused  my  room  to 
become  horror-haunted,  and  Law,  black  as  a  raven  to 
my  shrinking  soul,  knocked  at  my  door  and  was  admitted 
by  me ;  and  there  I  argued  and  plead  in  vain,  for  only 
one  unrelenting  and  changeless  answer  was  given  me; 
and  when,  in  my  agony  of  soul,  I  stretched  my  arms  into 
the  unseen,  and  called  to  my  beautiful  one,  my  soul's 
ideal,  I  still  received  the  same  grim  answer  as  before; 
for  what  had  I  to  do  with  ideals  when  I,  myself,  had 
madly  trampled  them  in  the  dust?  What  had  I  to  do 
with  Love,  the  pure,  the  beautiful,  when  passion's  fierce 
fires  had  scorched  and  blighted  it  in  my  life?  What 
had  I  to  do  with  heavenly  things,  when  I  had  only  sown 
to  the  flesh  that  which  with  the  flesh  must  perish? 


28  SIFTED  THROUGH 

0  child  of  earth,  it  is  a  fearful  thing  to  stand  naked 
and  alone  with  self  and  your  Creator,  and  know  that 
you  have  defamed  every  beautiful  opportunity  given  to 
you. 

Every  poet  is  more  or  less  of  a  prophet,  and  as  he 
frequently  changes  his  spelling  and  the  construction  of 
his  sentences,  to  preserve  the  rhythm  of  his  productions, 
so  he  often  changes  that  which  seems  to  be,  into  that 
which  is — for  the  Law  of  Rhythm  carries  him  far  beyond 
his  present  boundaries,  into  the  larger  and  clearer  vision 
of  the  yet-to-be. 

Many  have  said  there  is  no  room  in  the  world  today 
for  the  dreamer,  but  I  say  to  you  the  Dreamer  is  often 
a  connecting  link  between  the  manifest  and  the  un- 
manifest;  and  according  to  the  nature  of  thy  dreams, 
0  Dreamer,  is  the  nature  of  the  manifestation  that  fol- 
loweth.  Can  one  handle  a  serpent  and  avoid  its  fangs? 
Can  one  play  with  an  asp  and  escape  its  sting?  I  say 
unto  thee,  that  whoever  uses  the  talents  God  has  given 
him,  for  base  and  unlawful  purposes,  shall  drain  the 
cup  of  suffering  to  its  dregs. 

You  will  never  find  happiness  anywhere,  0  happiness- 
seeker,  until  you  find  within  yourself  an  unfailing  sup- 
ply, then  you  will  take  it  with  you  where'er  you  go. 
But  I  tell  thee,  truly,  peace  and  joy  are  born  of  love — 
the  One  Love — and  only  in  one  way  can  the  soul  attain 
it.  Enter  ye  into  the  Holy  of  Holies,  0  soul  of  the  Soul, 
and  listen  to  the  Voice  that  speaketh  there — the  Voice 
of  the  universes — of  a  million  million  suns  revolving  in 
the  great  Celestial  Light,  revolving  in  perfect  harmony 
with  the  melody  of  Perfect  Being. 

When,  crushed  and  broken,  0  soul,  thou  dost  make  an 
unconditional  surrender  of  thyself,  when,  in  thy  dis- 
tress thou  criest,  "The  foundations  of  the  earth  are 
broken,  and  the  heavens  by  the  power  of  Godhead  are 
rent;"  for  the  cry  of  a  soul  in  its  last  despair  moves 
the  universe  of  Being,  and  within  itself  contains  the 
loving  Father's  answer,  "My  son,  here  am  I."  Then 


SOWING  AND  REAPING  29 

thou  wilt  know  the  Christ,  the  beloved  Son — the  Won- 
derful One — the  unerring  Counselor — the  Prince  of 
Peace  Everlasting. 

Lo !  my  hands  with  nails  are  torn ! 
I  the  cruel  thorns  have  worn, 
I  the  sins  of  earth  have  borne, 
Suffering  Man  of  Calvary! 

Love  transcending,  love  of  mother, 
Love  beyond  the  love  of  brother ; 
My  poor  soul  long  starved  and  broken 
Now  receives  the  heavenly  token 
Snow-white  Dove  of  Peace. 

Not  a  raven  grimly  croaking, 
While  I  plead  from  grief  surcease, 
But  the  snow-white  Dove  of  Peace ! 

Stripped  and  naked,  the  trembling  soul  reaches  out 
for  Power,  that  it  instinctively  senses,  but  has  not 
learned  to  know;  even  as  the  growing  vine  reaches  out 
its  tendrils  toward  the  trellis  it  senses,  but  cannot  see. 
0  strong  indeed  is  that  new-born  soul  that  seeks  not 
for  the  Rock  of  Refuge  wherein  to  hide,  that  calls  not 
for  some  strong  arm  to  lean  upon. 

It  is  but  a  small  part  of  death  to  die,  and  one  who 
lives  for  self  knows  not  what  life  is.  0  the  joy  of  a 
soul  redeemed  from  selfishness  to  selflessness!  In  the 
light  of  a  selfless  love,  the  lurking  shadows  flee  and  a 
new  heaven  and  earth  appear.  In  this  light  one  sees  all 
things  as  they  really  are;  outside  this  light  one  sees 
nothing  aright.  Basking  in  the  light  and  warmth  of 
this  Presence,  the  brambles  and  briars  by  the  wayside 
are  glorified,  and  become  objects  of  beauty.  Happy 
voices  that  one  has  never  noticed  before  will  call  from 
earth,  air  and  water. 

Out  from  the  sin-burdened  soul,  touched  by  the  Heal- 


30  SIFTED  THROUGH 

ing  Hand  of  an  Infinite  Love,  goes  the  fever  of  unrest, 
and  in  the  peace  that  follows  one  can  hear,  and  see,  and 
know.  Such  joy  had  never  been  mine  before.  The 
ghouls  and  goblins  no  longer  grinned  and  mocked  at 
me  from  Nature's  rocky  wilds;  no  longer  demons 
shrieked  and  taunted  me  in  the  watches  of  the  night ;  no 
more  the  great  Karmic  Law  of  cause  and  effect,  grim 
and  unrelenting,  croaked  to  my  soul-pleadings,  "  Never- 
more"— for  Love  is  the  fulfilling  of  the  Law,  and  of  all 
law  it  is  the  Law,  and  when  to  this  Love  the  soul  has 
made  an  unconditional  surrender,  it  fears  no  more  the 
Karmic  Law.  For  him,  the  planets  sing  no  fateful  song, 
but  one  grand  symphony  of  love  and  trust. 

Long  centuries  ago  a  Hebrew  Poet,  catching  a  glimpse 
of  Something  above  and  beyond  the  clouds  and  light- 
nings of  Sinai,  cried  aloud,  "The  redeemed  of  the  Lord 
shall  come  with  singing  into  Zion,  and  everlasting  joy 
shall  be  upon  their  heads;  they  shall  find  gladness  and 
joy — and  sorrow,  and  mourning,  and  sighing  shall  floe 
away." 

When  the  Perfect  Love  which  casts  out  all  fear  is 
made  manifest,  the  soul  sings ;  it  is  full  of  joy  and  must 
express  it.  Does  it  seem  strange,  this  truth :  great  sorrow 
and  great  joy  find  their  most  perfect  expression  in  song  ? 
The  two  extremes  touch  each  other,  and  there  is  but 
one  quivering  chord  between  the  two. 

Unto  the  magic  touch  of  Love,  the  pure,  the  beautiful, 
the  true,  every  door  opens  and  all  hidden  treasures  are 
revealed.  The  distant  Aiden  is  seen  to  be  the  beautiful 
here  and  now,  and  angels  come  to  every  soul  purified 
by  holy  love. 

Sing,  0  ye  who  are  redeemed  from  the  law  of  sin  and 
death!  Let  your  lives  express  joy,  ye  who  have  found 
the  fount  of  perennial  youth !  The  mighty  Orpheus,  by 
the  power  of  his  magic  touch,  lifted  mortals  to  heaven, 
and  St.  Cecelia,  by  the  same  power,  drew  the  angels 
down,  for  love  is  perfect  rhythm  and  moves  worlds  of 


SOWING  AND  REAPING  31 

beings;  yea,  it  is  the  one  grand  chorus  to  the  hymn 
the  universes  sing. 

For  what,  0  mortal,  is  your  world  ?  One  spark  from 
off  Life's  anvil  hurled.  What  is  the  Word  that  was  lost, 

0  ye  Wind  leaders  of  the  blind  ?    Within  one 's  self  only 
can  the  Word  be  lost,  and  within  one's  self  it  must  be 
found.    Within  yourself  lies  the  Key  which  unlocks  all 
mysteries — have  you  found  it? 

Beauty,  such  as  man  never  dreamed  of,  flashes  and 
glows  before  his  senses  and  thrills  his  being  with  joy 
unspeakable,  and  connects  him  with  new  life  forces  well- 
ing up  from  the  depths  of  Being,  when  he  has  found 
the  Key. 

Hope,  thou  bright  star  of  the  soul!  Thou  star 
sometimes  obscured  by  doubt  and  the  fear  that  is  born 
of  it — but  unwaninsr  and  never  setting,  thou  shinest  on 
forever,  until  thy  lisrht  is  lost  in  the  glorious  light  of 
the  great  Forever  of  Realization.  All  we  ever  had  is 
forever  our  own. 

1  went  to  the  spot  where  my  flowers  grew. 
My  beautiful  violets,  sweet  and  blue ; 

My  flowerets  set  in  a  frame  of  green, 

Where  the  gray  mists  fall  on  the  water 's  sheen ; 
But  the  snows  lay  heaped  on  the  violets'  bed, 

My  beautiful  violets  cold  and  dead ! 
I  called,  and  a  Voice  from  out  the  wold 

Came  forth  from  the  caverns,  frosty  and  cold ; 
"They  are  not  dead — they  shall  rise  again, 

When  the  sweet  south  wind  and  the  springtime  rain 
Shall  lift  the  snows  from  the  violets  blue, 

Your  loved  and  lost  shall  return  to  you." 
And  Love  is  the  gentle  zephyr  that  blows, 

And  lifts  from  our  earth  the  deep,  drifted  snows, 
And  Love  is  the  Life — though  it  seemeth  dead, 

That  shall  spring  for  aye,  from  earth's  wintry  bed. 

—P. 


CHAPTER  V 
THE  STORY  OP  JOHN  AUGUSTINE 

|Y  NAME  is  John  Augustine.  I  was  the  son 
of  a  wealthy  father  and  a  fashionable  mother. 
Unless  the  doctrine  of  re-birth  is  true  I  see  no 
way  to  explain  my  life  history.  I  hope  it  is  true,  for  it 
will  give  me  an  opportunity  to  make  good  on  the  plane 
where  this  time  I  made  such  wretched  blunders. 

My  father  was  a  man  with  a  large  degree  of  worldly 
sense,  and  my  mother,  having  brought  me  into  the  world, 
shifted  the  responsibility  of  my  upbringing  upon  high- 
priced  help. 

After  my  graduation  from  college  my  father  insisted 
that  I  take  up  some  honorable  profession.  ' '  I  have  sup- 
ported you  long  enough, ' '  he  said, ' '  and  you  must  hence- 
forth rely  upon  yourself.  I  give  you  just  ten  days  in 
which  to  decide  what  profession  you  will  follow." 

"I  will  decide  right  now,"  I  said,  "I  will  be  a  clergy- 
man." If  a  thunderbolt  had  fallen  in  our  midst,  the 
effect  would  have  been  scarcely  more  pronounced.  I 
was,  perhaps,  the  most  astounded  of  all.  To  this  day  I 
have  no  explanation  for  my  remark,  for  as  far  as  I  know 
I  had  never  thought  of  such  a  career  before.  The  words 
seemed  to  speak  in  and  through  me. 

My  mother  broke  the  silence  by  exclaiming,  ''0,  how 
perfectly  lovely!  To  be  able  to  say  'My  son,  the  Rev. 
John  Augustine'  will  give  me  prestige  with  a  certain 
class  of  really  nice  people  who  have  never  yet  welcomed 
me." 

32 


THE  STORY  OF  JOHN  AUGUSTINE  33 

I  noticed  my  father  grow  very  pale  during  my 
mother's  remarks,  at  the  close  of  which  he  said,  sol- 
emnly, "My  son,  I  suppose  this  has  been  in  your  mind 
for  some  time,  for  you  surely  would  not  be  so  rash  as 
to  choose  this  vocation  without  due  consideration  and  an 
inner  sensing  of  your  fitness  for  the  work.  You  will 
have  to  go  to  a  theological  school,  but  after  you  have 
finished  the  necessary  course,  you  will  receive  no  further 
help  from  me  and  must  rely  entirely  upon  your  own 
ability. " 

Something  in  my  father's  tone  and  manner  stirred 
me  as  nothing  else  ever  had  before,  and  I  went  to  my 
room  to  think  over  my  strange  position.  I  sat  down 
and  reviewed  my  past  life — "O,  well,"  I  thought,  "my 
life  has  not  been  very  bad,  I  have  been  real  good,  in 
comparison  with  some." 

A  voice  from  an  unseen  presence  close  beside  me 
said  solemnly,  "Onp  who  is  good  because  he  fears  to  be 
bad,  is  not  good  at  all." 

I  was  terribly  frightened,  and  went  to  bed  trembling. 
In  the  morning,  I  thought,  I  will  go  to  my  father  and 
tell  him  that  I  will  become  a  lawyer,  instead  of  a  clergy- 
man, but  in  the  morning  I  felt  that  I  must  not  change 
my  strange  resolution  of  the  evening  before. 

The  years  went  by,  and  I  married  a  sensible  girl  and 
she  insisted  that  I,  from  her  standpoint,  honor  my  call- 
insr.  I  thousrht  it  would  be  easy  to  write  sermons  and 
make  fashionable  calls  and  grace  certain  social  func- 
tions with  my  honored  presence — but  I  found  I  was 
doomed  to  hard  labor  and  constant  criticism.  As  I  had 
no  other  means  of  livelihood,  I  had  to  do  my  best. 

I  kept  up  mv  elocution  and  voice  culture  and  spent 
many  hours  before  the  mirror  studying  gestures.  I  was. 
much  to  my  dislike,  obliged  to  study  the  Bible,  and  I 
spent  much  time  in  searching  musty  old  volumes  to 
find  unique  subjects  and  startling  headlines  for  my  ser- 
mons. I  studied  the  poets,  and  quoted  from  them  effect- 
ively. I  grew  very  weary  of  it  all,  for  it  was  really  a 


34  SIFTED  THROUGH 

slave's  life;  but  necessity  and  my  wife  kept  me  going. 

Many  great  temptations  assailed  me,  from  which  I 
often  narrowly  escaped.  I  needed  self -discipline  badly, 
and  I  got  plenty  of  it.  I  never  forgot  the  voice  that 
spoke  to  me  that  eventful  night  that  I  chose  my  pro- 
fession, and  I  learned  that  while  Fear  may  prove  a 
strong  restraining  rope  it  is  one  that  galls  very  badly. 
Every  time  I  went  into  the  pulpit  I  felt  like  the  hypo- 
crite I  was.  I  had  a  nervous  fear  lest  I  be  found  out. 
I  grew  sensitive  to  criticism,  and  inclined  to  argue  or 
explain  my  conduct.  I  felt  restless,  like  a  prisoner 
who  paces  his  narrow  cell,  vainly  longing  for  freedom. 

One  little  event  in  my  childhood  days  kept  constantly 
recurring  to  me,  each  time  with  more  startling  sig- 
nificance. When  my  mother  was  well  out  of  the  wav, 
her  well-paid  help  followed  her  example  and  shirked  the 
responsibility  of  my  care  onto  cheaper  help,  who  were 
glad  enough  to  earn  a  little,  while  my  supposed  care- 
takers had  a  good  time.  The  one  who  usually  cared 
for  me  at  these  times  was  an  old  colored  mammv,  the 
one  person  on  earth  I  loved  the  best.  She  used  to  tell 
me  weird  stories  of  srhosts  ?md  apnaritions  and  hoodoo 
spells.  She  also  told  me  Bible  stories,  with  many  fan- 
tastic embellishments.  She  took  me  to  revival  meetings, 
which  seemed  to  me  to  be  held  alwavs  in  unfinished  build- 
ings, off  unpaved  streets.  Religious  fervor  must  have 
run  high  in  those  meetings,  for,  as  I  looked  back,  I  could 
remember  pravers,  tears,  shouts  of  jov  and,  most  plainly 
of  all,  the  stories  that  were  told  in  the  experience  meet- 
ings; pathetic  stories  of  disease,  crime,  poverty  and 
drunkenness,  all  ending  in  joy  and  peace. 

I  had  been  in  the  habit  of  pushing  these  memories 
away  from  me  with  such  words  as  "fanaticism"  or 
"emotionalism,"  but  when  they  persisted  in  haunting 
me,  I  read  treatises  upon  hypnosis  and  suggestion.  I 
also  studied  the  workings  of  the  sub-conscious  mind,  as 
represented  by  some  authors  who  make  of  it  a  some- 
thing omnipotent  and  omnipresent,  yet  subject  to  con- 


THE  STORY  OF  JOHN  AUGUSTINE  35 

trol  and  alteration  by  the  conscious  mind.  The  more 
I  studied,  the  more  puzzled  and  bewildered  I  became, 
and  small  wonder,  for  words  and  semi-meaningless 
phrases  do  not  feed  a  starving  soul.  I  studied  Astrology, 
the  Hermetic  and  Yogi  and  Vedanta  philosophies,  also 
symbols,  numbers  and  colors,  and  very  secretly  dabbled 
in  the  phenomena  of  Spiritualism;  but  deeper  grew  the 
night  around  my  soul,  until  in  my  distress  of  mind  I 
prayed  one  genuine  soul  prayer,  '  *  0,  God,  what  is  Truth  ? 
Which  way  is  the  Way?" 

It  is  now  my  firm  conviction  that  any  person  who 
pretends  to  a  virtue  he  has  not,  is  compelled  by  circum- 
stances to  attain  it  sometime.  Yes,  the  hypocrite  is  some- 
time compelled  to  live  up  to  his  professions.  ''The  Lord 
will  not  hold  him  guiltless,  who  taketh  His  Name  in 
vain."  Those  words  have  a  deeper  and  more  compre- 
hensive meaning  than  is  generally  accredited  to  them. 
You  cannot  trifle  with  spiritual  things  without  getting 
hurt.  I  am  equally  sure  that  as  soon  as  one  is  ready  for 
a  new  experience,  it  will  come  to  him,  like  the  river  in 
its  course,  following  the  line  of  least  resistance. 

One  day  I  went  into  the  pulpit  in  an  unusual  frame 
of  mind.  A  feeling  of  utter  weariness  was  upon  me; 
life  was  not  worth  living.  What  did  it  amount  to? 
What  was  the  use  of  going  on,  or  trying  to  do  anything  ? 
I  had  chosen  for  my  text  Isaiah  29:11,  "And  the  vision 
of  all  is  become  unto  you  as  the  words  of  a  book  that 
is  sealed,  which  men  deliver  to  one  that  is  learned,  say- 
ing, Read  this,  I  pray  thee:  and  he  saith,  I  cannot;  for 
it  is  sealed."  I  languidly  opened  the  Bible  and  my 
eyes  fell  upon  the  fifth  chapter  of  James  and,  moved 
by  a  resistless  force,  I  read:  "Go  to  now,  ye  rich  men, 
weep  and  howl  for  the  miseries  that  shall  come  upon 
you.  Your  riches  are  corrupted,  and  your  garments 
are  moth-eaten.  Your  gold  and  silver  is  rusted  and  the 
rust  shall  be  a  witness  against  you  and  shall  eat  your 
flesh  like  fire.  You  have  heaped  together  treasures  for 


36  SIFTED  THROUGH 

;      -*  '-'•'-'.'••  ta.  -    **^£- 

the  last  days.     Behold,  the  wages  of  the  laborers  who 

have  reaped  your  fields  and  which  you  have  fraudulently 

kept  back  crieth,  and  the  cries  of  the  workers  have 

entered  the  ears  of  the  God  of  Heaven.    For  you  have 

lived  in  pleasure  on  the  earth  and  been  wanton,  you 

have  nourished  your  hearts  for  the  day  of  slaughter. ' ' 

I  suppose  not  half  a  dozen  people  in  that  church  full 
of  wealthy  people  knew  that  those  words  were  in  the 
Bible.  I  must  have  read  them  before,  but  I  did  not 
know  they  were  there.  I  read  the  words  wonderingly, 
and  gazed  at  the  big-eyed,  wide-awake  congregation 
before  me.  I  felt  dizzy,  and  a  strange  sensation,  as 
of  floating  in  the  air,  came  over  me.  I  opened  my  mouth 
and  the  words  flowed  through  it  like  grain  from  the 
hands  of  the  sower.  I  listened — yes — literally  listened 
to  myself  talking,  and  was  frightened  at  my  speech,  for 
reproof  and  denunciation  was  hurled  at  the  people  with- 
out mercy,  until  I  sank  trembling  and  exhausted  upon 
my  chair. 

I  saw  my  mother's  eyes  blazing  with  anger,  and  my 
wife  was  weeping.  Only  one  person  came  to  speak  to 
me  at  the  close  of  the  services — my  father.  He  took  me 
by  the  hand  and  said:  "My  son,  you  have  stirred  up 
a  hornet's  nest,  and  before  the  week  is  out  you  will  be 
asked  to  resign,  but  I  am  glad  of  it;  at  last  you  have 
done  something  worth  while.  I  am  an  old  man  now, 
and  I  am  tired  of  the  hypocrisy  and  cant  I  see  daily. 
For  the  first  time  in  all  your  life,  I  am  proud  of  you, 
my  son." 

I  stood  and  watched  my  father  as  he  entered  his  car 
and  was  borne  away,  and  I  marveled  greatly;  then  I 
walked  slowly  home,  where  my  wife  and  mother  awaited 
me.  A  stormy  scene  followed  my  arrival. 

The  next  day,  while  handling  some  old  portfolios,  two 
portraits  fell  upon  the  floor — Savonarola  and  John  Wes- 
ley. I  was  struck  by  a  similarity  of  features  and  expres- 
sion, and  a  desire  to  read  the  lives  of  the  two  men  and 
compare  their  characters  and  work  took  possession  of 


THE  STORY  OF  JOHN  AUGUSTINE  37 

me7~I  obtained  the  books  I  needed  and  began  my  task. 
I  cannot  recall  ever  being  so  absorbed  in  reading  any- 
thing before ;  I  was  fascinated  and  stirred  to  the  depths 
of  my  being.  Something  within  me  rose  up  mightily, 
'  *  I  would  give  my  all !  I  would  suffer  and  die,  if  neces- 
sary, but  how  and  where.  0,  for  the  power  to  be  poured 
out  through  me  as  it  was  poured  out  through  Savonarola 
and  Wesley!" 

My  soul  burned  within  me,  and  I  began  to  pray,  real, 
genuine  prayers,  and  one  day  a  Voice  from  one  unseen 
said  to  me,  "Go  to  the  slums  and  preach  the  Good 
News."  This  time  I  received  a  two-fold  shock;  that 
Voice  again  had  spoken,  and  told  me  to  go  to  the  slums ! 
I,  John  Augustine,  leave  my  luxurious  home  and  go  to 
such  an  unwashed,  diseased,  vile,  law-breaking  throng! 
Not  I !  I  wanted  to  be  a  Savonarola,  but  I  wanted  to 
thunder  in  the  ears  of  the  rich,  educated,  polished, 
political,  social  and  religious  schemers!  I  knew  what 
I  wanted  to  be  and  do ! 

I  grew  restless,  bewailed  my  fate,  pitied  myself,  ques- 
tioned myself,  God,  everybody  and  everything.  I  read 
Ingersoll,  Darwin,  Spencer  and  a  host  of  other  writers, 
and  became  more  and  more  hopelessly  lost  in  darkness. 
Fierce  temptations  assailed  me,  until  it  seemed  to  me 
I  had  been  tempted  to  commit  every  crime  in  the  Thou- 
Shalt-Nots;  but  there  was  always  a  restraining  power 
that  held  me  in  its  grip. 

Rest  assured,  0  troubled  soul !  God  will  never  permit 
you  to  have  an  unnecessary  experience;  but  He  may 
permit  you  to  come  so  near  committing  a  great  sin  that 
you  will  know  just  how  to  understand  and  sympathize 
with  those  who  go  one  step  farther  than  yourself. 

0,  my  friends,  be  patient  with  those  among  you  who 
are  impatient  with  God  and  all  His  manifestations — 
those  tempestuous  souls,  self-seeking  but  ever  unsatisfied, 
for  such  may  be  very  near  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven. 

I   prayed   in   my   desperation,    determined   I   would 


38  SIFTED  THROUGH 

know  whether  there  was  a  God  or  not.  I  prayed  as  men 
and  women  have  ever  prayed,  when  the  evolving  soul 
knows  there  is  something  to  be  attained  beyond  its 
present  need  and  knowledge. 

One  night  after  one  of  these  soul  prayers  something 
happened.  Exhausted,  I  threw  myself  upon  a  couch 
and — fell  asleep.  I  stood  alone  upon  a  great  rock,  and 
throngs  of  people  passed  before  me;  some  in  the  vilest 
rags,  and  some  in  royal  robes,  gleaming  with  diamonds 
of  untold  wealth ;  there  were  the  pinched  faces  of  starv- 
ing women  and  children,  the  sin-hardened,  vice-bloated 
faces  of  men  and  women  who  had  once  known  home  and 
love  and  self-respect.  Arms  gaunt  and  wrinkled  were 
extended,  clutching  frantically  at  the  empty  air,  and 
arms  white,  well-rounded  and  gem-encircled,  waved  al- 
luringly at  the  beholders.  Suddenly  I  understood! 
These  were  all  my  brothers  and  sisters,  who  had  been 
tempted  in  the  Great  School  of  Experience,  even  as  I 
had  been,  and  all  were  in  the  same  school  and  journey- 
ing to  the  one  Goal ! 

It  was  not  denunciation  they  needed,  but  Truth,  and 
Truth  never  separated  from  Love!  "0,  God,"  I  cried, 
''fill  me  so  full  of  Love  of  Thyself  that  I  may  love  the 
most  wretched  sinner  here  before  me!" 

I  felt  a  Presence  and  beheld  a  man  in  a  simple  flow- 
ing robe  of  snowy  white,  standing  beside  me.  His  arms 
were  outstretched  to  the  jostling  throng,  and  in  a  voice 
of  deep  yearning  love  I  heard  Him  say,  "0,  Jerusalem, 
Jerusalem,  how  often  would  I  have  gathered  you  to  me 
as  a  hen  gathers  her  chickens  under  her  wings,  but  you 
would  not.  I  will  go  on  to  the  end  and,  if  I  be  lifted  up, 
I  will  draw  all  men  unto  me!"  I  fell  on  my  knees 
before  the  Speaker — He  was  gone,  but  I  knew  at  last 
that  Love  is  the  one  thing  above  all  others  needed. 

It  was  Love  that  caused  Lord  Buddha  to  leave  wife 
and  child  and  kingdom  and  riches,  to  go  out  to  teach  and 
bless  the  world — it  was  Love  that  made  Lord  Christ 
weep  over  His  needy,  erring  children  and,  forgetting 


THE  STORY  OF  JOHN  AUGUSTINE  39 

His  own  weariness  and  pain,  go  among  them  and  heal 
their  sick ;  it  was  Love  that  wept  at  the  tomb  of  Lazarus, 
Love  that  trod  the  whole  bitter  way,  and  forgave  all 
at  last !  It  was  Love  that  sent  Savonarola  from  his  cell 
to  warn  the  people  of  the  long,  hard  way  of  suffering 
before  them,  if  they  did  not  repent;  and  it  was  Love 
that  took  him  to  the  stake  at  last.  It  was  Love  that 
made  Wesley  strong  to  endure  the  vile  and  brutal  treat- 
ment given  him  by  church  and  rabble ;  Love  that  made 
him,  like  Paul,  sing  songs  of  joy  in  the  midst  of  perse- 
cution, and  endure  to  the  end. 

"Go  to  the  slums  and  preach  the  Good  News,"  yes, 
I  would  go  gladly,  for  I  had  Good  News  to  give  at  last. 
"Only  go  with  me,  0  Living  Christ,  and  I  will  gladly 
toil  and  suffer ! "  I  cried.  The  next  morning  I  told  my 

wife  I  had  decided  to  go  to as  a  mission  worker 

in  the  slums.  She  at  once  dispatched  a  servant  to  bring 
my  mother ;  she  came,  and  a  few  minutes  later  my  father 
came.  The  two  women  pleaded,  wept  and  coaxed  me  to 
give  up  my  purpose,  but  when  they  found  I  still  re- 
mained unmoved,  they  threatened  me  with  the  medical 
board  and  insane  asylum ;  but  here  my  father  interfered : 
"Let  the  boy  alone,"  he  said  sternly;  "I  will  not  have 
him  meddled  with.  I  have  spent  my  whole  life  since 
childhood  in  the  mad  chase  for  gold,  and  now  I  stand 
face  to  face  with — what  ?  I  can  take  none  of  my  money 
with  me,  nothing  that  it  will  purchase.  Empty  handed 
I  go,  but  sorrow  and  regret  go  with  me ;  I  look  back  over 
a  lifetime  spent  among  the  swine,  I  have  fed  on  husks, 
far  from  my  Father's  house,  and  starved  in  the  midst 
of  plenty.  As  I  have  given,  I  have  received.  Go  pack 
your  bag,  my  son,  and  I  will  drive  you  to  the  station." 

Two  hours  later,  I  left  my  home  forever.  We  drove 
slowly,  in  a  round  about  way,  and  I  poured  into  my 
father's  ears  the  story  I  have  given  you.  He  was  deeply 
moved,  and  told  me  many  things  about  his  life  I  had 
never  known  before.  At  the  station,  we  took  a  tearful 


40  SIFTED  THROUGH 

but  silent  farewell  of  each  other,  and  I  never  met  him 
again  in  physical  body. 

Right  here  I  pause  to  remind  you  that  the  Great 
Teacher  said:  "Judge  not,  for  if  you  judge,  you  will 
be  judged  by  others,  in  exactly  the  same  measure."  If 
you  would  only  remember  that  those  words  are  Absolute 
Truth,  expressing  a  changeless  Law,  how  careful  you 
would  be! 

Friends,  I  beg  of  you,  for  your  own  sakes,  to  try  and 
remember  to  pass  judgment  upon  no  one.  You  cannot 
possibly  know  the  inside  reasonings,  motives,  and  im- 
pulses of  the  human  heart,  and  even  a  hard-headed  old 
business  man  may  carry  an  aching  heart  and  despise  the 
wealth  he  has  sacrificed  his  soul  to  gain. 

Slum  work  is  not  easy  work;  a  thousand  trials  and 
difficulties  present  themselves  where  you  would  not  think 
of  one ;  but  the  God,  I  had  truly  consecrated  my  life  to, 
was  with  me,  and  I  soon  developed  a  healing  power  that 
made  me  a  desirable  person  to  have  in  the  sick  room. 
By  the  bed  of  the  dying,  I  knelt  in  praver;  into  the 
poverty  stricken,  crime-stained  homes  of  the  lowliest  of 
the  lowly,  I  went,  and  In  His  Name,  offered  my  cup  of 
cold  water;  and  stood  behind  prison  bars  and  sang  of  a 
Love  that  is  mighty  to  save. 

Into  the  loveless  lives  of  these  burdened  ones  I  poured 
love.  My  wife  obtained  her  freedom  and  re-married. 
My  parents  obtained  their  freedom  from  flesh  and  blood, 
and  in  my  dreams  I  saw  them  and  talked  with  them.  I 
also  saw  and  talked  with  angelic  beings,  who  encouraged 
and  strengthened  and  counseled  me.  I  grew  into  an 
understanding  of  why  dreams  play  such  an  important 
part  in  the  Bible  narratives,  and  I  have  since  learned 
to  know  that  my  dreams  were  not  mere  dreams,  but 
real  experiences,  and  so  the  years  rolled  on. 

One  night  I  was  sleeping  in  the  outskirts  of  the  city, 
where  I  had  established  a  mission  among  a  class  of 
laboring  people,  who  toiled  almost  unceasingly  to  eke 


THE  STORY  OF  JOHN  AUGUSTINE  41 

out  a  painful  and  meager  existence.  I  was  awakened 
by  a  great  shouting  and  shrieks  of  "Fire!  Fire!"  I 
rushed  from  the  house  and  saw  a  ramshackly  tenement 
house  in  flames.  On  the  upper  floor,  I  knew  the  place 
well,  lived  a  widow  with  an  invalid  mother  and  three 
puny  children  to  care  for,  with  the  help  of  her  only  son, 
a  bright,  well  disposed  lad  of  twelve  years. 

The  crippled  grandmother  had  saved  not  only  herself, 
but  the  little  one  in  the  bed  with  her,  and  the  mother, 
now  screaming  frantically,  had  the  two  remaining  babies 
clinging  to  her,  but  the  boy  was  still  in  the  blazing 
house. 

There  was  not  a  moment  to  lose;  cat-chin?  a  heavy 
coat  from  a  man  in  the  crowd,  I  plunered  into  the  flames, 
and  with  a  prayer  that  must  have  moved  heaven  to  my 
aid,  I  fought  my  way  thru  smoke  and  flames,  and  at 
last  found  the  unconscious  lad,  and  bore  him  from  the 
smoke-filled  room — I  know  not  how — to  the  open  case- 
ment. Leaning  far  out,  I  dropped  him  upon  the  blanket 
stretched  to  receive  him,  and  then — I  felt  the  floor  give 
way  beneath  me,  and  with  a  crash,  a  great  flaming  mass 
swooped  down  upon  me.  I  heard,  or  thought  I  heard, 
a  voice  of  wondrous  sweetness  singing,  ' '  Thou,  0  Christ, 
art  all  I  want,  more  than  all  in  Thee  I  find, ' '  and  a  feel- 
ing of  peace,  such  as  I  had  never  known  before,  came 
to  me. 

I  heard  a  mighty  roaring  and  rushing,  as  of  tempest- 
lashed  waves,  hurled  madly  against  a  rock-bound  shore, 
but  I  felt  no  pain  and  was  unafraid.  Lightly  as  a  thistle 
down  I  floated,  and  felt  myself  clasped  in  the  loving 
arms  of  one  unseen. 

For  years  I  had  felt  a  great  heart  longing  for  rural 
life,  for  hills  and  streams  and  fields,  and  I  beheld  it, 
when  at  last  I  awoke,  for  I  was  lying  upon  a  green  bank 
under  graceful  willow  trees,  .bordering  a  stream  of 
water  babbling  over  shining,  many  colored  stones. 
Fishes,  beautiful  as  flowers,  darted  here  and  there  thru 


42  SIFTED  THROUGH 

the  crystal  water,  and  birds  sang  joyously  amid  the 
green  branches  waving  over  my  head. 

It  seemed  to  be  early  morning,  and  the  air  was  sweet 
with  the  odor  of  unfolding  flowers.  A  dainty  fawn- 
like  creature,  with  lustrous  brown  eyes,  came  trotting 
up  to  me  and  laid  her  head  caressingly  against  my  shoul- 
der. Presently  a  bird  alighted  on  my  knee  and  turned 
its  head  in  a  most  coquettish  manner,  as  if  expecting 
from  me  some  demonstration  of  admiration  or  affection. 
Where  was  I?  Surely  not  on  earthly  shores. 

Slowly  my  past  life  unrolled  before  me,  each  event 
standing  out  boldly  in  a  light  I  had  never  seen  before, 
and,  like  a  mighty  cable  stretched  from  shore  to  shore, 
ran  the  changeless  Law  of  cause  and  effect. 

Strains  of  music,  sweet  as  the  chords  of  an  aeolian 
harp  upon  which  the  summer  winds  are  playing,  came 
from  a  clump  of  flowering  shrubs  near  me;  I  sprang 
lisrhtly  to  mv  feet  and  was  greeted  by  a  Stranger,  my 
ideal  of  perfect  manhood — that  is,  he  seemed  to  be  a 
combination  of  nobility,  stren?rth,  self-control  and  kind- 
ness, which  I  always  considered  desirable  masculine 
qualities:  and  the  rmritv,  tenderness  and  patience  with 
which  I  had  clothed  ideal  womanhood. 

From  a  distance  came  the  sound  of  a  bell,  silvery  clear, 
and  its  sweet  tones  touched  the  secret  depths  of  my  in- 
most being,  filling  me  with  holv  aspirations  beyond  any- 
thing ever  before  experienced.  Instinctively  I  raised 
my  eyes  to  the  glorious  sky  above  me,  and  cried  in  rap- 
ture, "0  Righteous  Father.  I  thank  Thee!  from  the 
depths  of  mv  being  I  praise  Thee !"  My  newly  acnuired 
friend  stood  with  bowed  head  for  a  moment,  and  then, 
smiling,  said,  "Come  with  me,"  a  summons  I  gladly 
obeyed. 

Of  the  happy  davs  which  followed,  I  will  speak  briefly. 
We  found  no  streets  of  srold,  nor  crowns,  nor  thrones — 
unless  you  take  the  words  symbolically,  as  they  were 
intended — but  we  did  find  many  happy  people  wearing 


THE  STORY  OF  JOHN  AUGUSTINE  43 

white  robes  (not  all  of  them,  however),  and  many  of 
them  had  harps  and  other  musical  instruments,  from 
which  they  drew  wondrous  music,  and  we  joined  in  sing- 
ing paeans  of  joy  such  as  mortal  ears  have  never  heard. 

Often  we  sat  wrapt  in  silent  meditation,  and  to  me  it 
seemed  that  I,  freed  from  all  limitation,  beheld  the  pages 
of  the  past  unrolled  before  me;  the  past,  illumined  by 
Divine  Purpose,  glorious  and  beautiful — not  a  marred 
and  tangled  pattern,  as  in  my  blindness  I  had  once 
thousrht  it  to  be.  In  my  consciousness  I  also  touched 
the  Future's  unknown  shores  and  caught  glimpses  of, 
what?  " Truly  eye  hath  not  seen  nor  ear  heard,  nor 
hath  it  entered  the  heart  of  man:  what  God  hath  pre- 
pared for  them  that  love  Him." 

Without  fear  or  pain  or  weariness,  we  went  where  we 
willed  to  go.  Truly  this  world  of  ours  is  a  beautiful 
world.  I  understand  how  Divine  Beings  might  sing  for 
joy  over  it  and  pronounce  it  "very  good."  "We  explored 
its  heights  and  depths,  its  seas,  caverns  and  mountain 
fastnesses,  its  deserts  and  its  fertile  lands.  God's  handi- 
work was  perfect,  man  alone  has  made  it  bad. 

0  those  wondrous  days  of  inspiration,  revelation  and 
achievement,  broken  by  a  mighty  Call,  which  echoed 
and  re-echoed  thru  every  realm  of  being ;  a  Call  to  self- 
forgetfulness  and  loving  service;  and  all  who  had  ears 
to  hear  that  Call,  responded  to  it,  and  from  peace  be- 
yond human  understanding,  and  from  joy  unspeakable, 
we  descended  into  the  darkness  and  sorrow,  into  the 
flames  and  smoke  and  deadly  gases,  into  the  horror  and 
agony  and  man's  inhumanity  to  man,  we  came,  and 
where  the  Comrade  in  White  led,  we  followed,  and  in 
His  Name,  we  gave  of  ourselves  to  the  uttermost;  and 
amid  the  awful  din  and  roar  of  battle,  we  sometimes 
paused  to  catch  again  the  angel's  song  telling  of  our 
Father's  changeless  Love. 


44  SIFTED  THROUGH 


0  wondrous  Love!    Almighty  Power! 

Unfailing  Light  in  darkest  hour,    '" 
That  pierces  thru  earth's  deepest  gloom, 

And  lifts  the  shadows  from  the  tomb! 

Sin-shackled  souls  thou  dost  set  free, 
And  tear-dimmed  eyes  thru  rainbows  see 

And  hardened  souls,  grown  black  with  sin, 
When  washed  by  Love  are  pure  within. 

Upon  earth's  horror-haunted  shore, 

Amid  the  awful  battle's  roar, 
Thou  didst  stretch  forth  a  mighty  hand, 

"White-robed  and  unafraid  didst  stand ! 

All-conquering  Love !    Thy  banners  wave 
Above  the  victor's  unsealed  grave! 

And  far  above  time 's  angry  roar 
Thy  Voice  is  heard  forever  more! 


CHAPTEK  VI 
MY  SEARCH  FOR  TRUTH 

0  TWO  individuals  have  the  same  experiences 
in  earth  life,  and  no  two  have  the  same  here. 
I  cannot  imagine  any  place  where  any  two  in- 
dividuals can  have  exactly  the  same  experience  and  main- 
tain their  individuality. 

As  you  have  to  forego  personal  desires  and  pleasures, 
in  order  to  write  this  communication  for  me,  so  I  must 
also  sacrifice  self  to  give  it  to  you.  Naturally  we  both 
want  something  worth  while.  What  is  best  worth  while  ? 
A  mighty  question,  and  one  that  no  two  persons  would 
answer  exactly  alike. 

So  many  times,  both  over  here  and  over  there,  I  have 
listened  to  inspirational  speakers,  and  felt  my  very  soul 
burning  with  the  fire  of  zeal — an  intense  desire — for 
the  speaker  to  awaken  from  a  semi-conscious  condition, 
into  one  of  vivid  realization  of  the  vital  needs  of  the 
hour;  and  an  ability  to  grapple  with  them  in  a  clear, 
concise,  discriminating  manner. 

Moonbeams,  dewdrops,  sunbeams,  starry-eyes,  are  all 
right  in  their  places,  at  the  proper  times,  but  in  time  of 
peril,  with  Lowell  we  cry,  "God,  give  us  men!"  Fire 
us  with  wisdom,  endow  us  with  strength,  fill  us  with  the 
love  that  knows  no  defeat,  and  send  us  forth  to  service, 
that  service  which  enables  us  to  forget  self  in  the  good 
of  the  whole.  So  shall  the  powers  of  Darkness  flee,  and 
the  powers  of  Light  rise,  all  victorious  forever  more. 

It  is  time  that  the  false  ideas  regarding  after-death 
conditions  were  dispelled.  There  would  have  been  no 

45 


46  SIFTED  THROUGH 

hope  for  the  world  if  all  mankind  had  accepted  the  one- 
time church  teaching,  that  man  had  to  drag  wearily 
thru  the  earthly  vale  of  groans  and  tears",  in  order  to 
attain  to  a  state  of  bliss  unthinkable,  in  some  far  away 
state  of  nothingness,  where  one  might  find  rest  the  most 
wearisome  task  imaginable. 

Set  this  down  as  Truth — rest  can  only  be  attained  thru 
a  change  of  mind,  which,  except  in  rare  cases,  should 
be  accompanied  by  physical  activity,  in  harmony  with 
the  mental  activity. 

The  modern  cults,  which  have  condemned  their  Church 
brothers  for  their  foolishness,  have,  in  their  teachings, 
done  little  better,  for  they  have  turned  the  spirit  world 
and  its  inhabitants  into  a  sort  of  vaporous  dreamland, 
where  ecstacy  and  horrors  vie  with  each  other  for 
supremacy.  For  Truth's  sake,  sister,  teach  the  people 
that  spirits  have  bodies  as  tangible  to  their  plane  of  mat- 
ter as  your  body  is  tangible  to  your  plane  of  matter. 
Strange,  is  it  not,  that  a  sensible  person  cannot  under- 
stand that  refined  senses  are  as  conscious  of  refined  mat- 
ter, as  crude  senses  can  be  of  crude  matter? 

All  unprejudiced  thinkers  teach  that  heaven  and  hell 
are  mental  conditions,  which  affect  one's  environment  to 
a  large  degree ;  but  do  not  stop  there,  teach  that  no  per- 
son can  jump  from  a  hell-condition  into  a  permanent 
heaven-condition,  and  God's  Law  is  growth,  progress; 
teach  that  Law  can  be,  and  often  is,  violated  but  never 
broken. 

Desire,  impulse,  hope,  ambition,  aims,  purposes,  can 
all  be  changed  in  a  moment,  "in  the  twinkling  of  an 
eye" — but  whoever  thinks  that  is  all  there  is  of  it,  is 
doomed  to  sorrow  and  disappointment.  Salvation  has 
to  be  worked  out  by  one's  own  self,  and  all  the  teachers 
and  Saviours  that  ever  lived,  cannot  save  a  mentally  self- 
satisfied  or  lazy  person.  Our  Saviours  point  the  Way, 
they  show  us  how  to  work  out  our  salvation,  and  having 
done  that,  they  can  only  love  us  and  let  us  do  it. 


MY  SEARCH  FOR  TRUTH  47 

Only  unsatisfied  desire  can  make  the  animal  nature 
active;  that  desire  satisfied,  temporarily,  indolence  at 
once  manifests.  The  intellectual  nature  is  always  active ; 
it  makes  easy  ways  hard,  and  gathers  heavy  burdens, 
multiplies  cares,  and  is  always  urging  and  demanding, 
constructing  and  destroying.  The  spiritual  nature  is 
always  active,  but  in  its  activity,  passive;  it  makes  the 
hard  ways  easy,  and  the  heavy  burdens  light,  and  con- 
structs the  indestructible  only. 

When  you  look  into  water,  every  object  you  see  is 
reversed,  and  when  you  look  thru  fog,  the  objects  are 
distorted,  or  lacking  in  detail.  Water  is  a  good  illus- 
tration of  the  intellectual  mind.  It  is  only  in  the  unob- 
structed sunlight  that  one  can  see  accurately,  but  you 
must  yourself  go  into  the  sunlight,  and  if  you  go  with  a 
settled  purpose  to  see  everything  as  it  really  is,  even  if 
all  your  cherished  theories  dissolve  like  mist  before  your 
vision,  then,  well  for  you. 

I  have  hesitated  to  comply  with  your  request  for  per- 
sonal experience,  and  yet,  if  your  will  to  learn  the  truth 
is  strong  enough,  you  will  gather  much  from  my  experi- 
ence to  help  you  along  the  way. 

After  my  so-called  death,  I  opened  my  eyes  and  found 
myself  lying  upon  a  white  cot,  in  a  room  that  suggested 
a  hospital  ward,  only  it  was  very  beautiful,  and  there 
was  no  odor  of  chemicals.  White-robed  women  with 
kind,  sympathetic,  motherly  faces  moved  here  and  there, 
tenderly  watching  their  charges.  Birds  were  flying 
about  the  room,  singing  joyously.  I  heard  the  sound  of 
water  murmuring  drowsily,  and  music  wondrously  sweet, 
like  the  notes  of  an  aeolian  harp.  I  became  conscious 
of  feeling  strong,  well,  buoyant.  My  mind  was  keen, 
alert  and  free,  and  thinking  required  no  effort;  there 
was  no  haziness  to  be  overcome,  no  heavy  weight  to  be 
thrown  aside. 

I  looked  up  into  my  mother's  face,  but  I  felt  no  sur- 
prise. My  mother  explained  to  me  what  had  occurred, 


48  SIFTED  THROUGH 

and  told  me  that  as  I  had  not  furnished  myself  with 
any  special  kind  of  clothing,  she  had  obtained  for  me 
an  ordinary  business  suit,  which  I  might  wear  at  my 
pleasure.  She  also  told  me,  that  as  I  had  learned  to  do 
very  well  without  her  assistance  while  I  was  upon  the 
physical  plane,  I  could  do  equally  well  without  her,  then 
and  there,  and  so  she  would  leave  me  for  a  time,  and  go 
about  her  usual  duties. 

I  now  see  the  wisdom  of  my  mother's  act.  Those  who 
represent  Love  as  blind,  are  lost  in  the  mazes  of  sex 
consciousness.  Real  Love  is  real  Wisdom.  You  may 
have  been  told  that  many  times,  but  it  is  a  very  lame 
statement  of  the  Truth,  that  will  not  bear  repeating,  and 
a  person  of  very  poor  comprehension  that  objects  to  its 
re-statement. 

My  mother's  parting  words  were:  ''Remember,  my 
son,  that  there  is  a  God  and  Father  of  all,  a  real,  loving 
Presence,  ever  ready  to  aid  and  help,  whenever  you  seek 
Him,  and  whatever  else  you  do,  seek  to  know  this  One 
True  God." 

As  I  lay  pondering  deeply  upon  my  mother's  words, 
I  saw  a  loved  brother  bending  over  me.  He  checked  my 
eagerness  to  talk  about  personal  affairs  by  saying:  "We 
will  not  waste  words,  my  brother,  for  all  that  pertains 
to  the  personality  will  and  must  adjust  itself  in  harmony 
with  the  Law  controlling  it;  let  us  devote  our  time  to 
the  eternal  things  which  abide  forever.  Personal  affairs 
are  only  seemingly  real,  for  they  are  constantly  changing 
in  appearance  like  our  emotions,  scarcely  permanent 
for  an  hour.  Remember,  my  dear  brother,  that  the  same 
Law  that  controls  upon  the  lowest  plane  controls  upon 
the  highest;  the  Principle  involved  is  always  the  same. 
All  Truth  is  One  Truth,  and  no  circumstance,  language, 
desire  or  belief,  can  change  it.  Listen  to  a  few  state- 
ments of  Truth:  "Seek  and  you  shall  find" — either 
what  you  seek  for,  or  something  of  like  nature  which, 
having  made  your  own,  you  must  contact  first.  As  you 
give,  you  will  and  must  receive.  According  to  the  nature 


MY  SEARCH  FOR  TRUTH  49 

of  the  outflow,  will  be  the  nature  of  the  inflow.  Ponder 
well  upon  these  words,  for  in  them  alone  lies  the  issue 
of  all  that  is  before  you.  All  the  beauty  that  God  and 
man  have  woven  into  manifestation,  means  very  little 
to  the  blind  man,  and  the  eyes  of  the  soul  must  be  opened 
before  it  can  perceive  Truth.  Thru  suffering,  the  soul 
is  led  to  the  Fountain  of  Truth,  where  the  blind  receive 
their  sight" 

I  will  not  weary  you  with  endless  details.  As  time 
flew  by,  I  grew  more  and  more  perplexed,  and  the  more 
perplexed  I  became,  the  more  I  kept  myself  to  myself. 
I  thought  to  meet  many  friends,  and  saw  very  few. 
After  a  time  it  was  forced  upon  my  consciousness  that 
many  people  who  were  once  so  eager  to  claim  my  atten- 
tion had  a  personal  motive  underlying  their  eagerness. 
After  thinking  deeply  about  the  matter,  I  made  up  my 
mind  that  I  could  not  condemn  them  without  condemn- 
ing myself. 

I  Visited  all  the  modern-cult  churches,  but  I  found 
nothing  to  satisfy  my  soul  hunger.  I  attended  the  meet- 
ings of  many  so-called  Free  Thought  and  Liberal  Asso- 
ciations, but  to  me  they  seemed  iconoclastic,  and  aggres- 
sively destructive.  However,  it  was  in  one  of  these 
meetings  that  I  perceived  the  truth,  that  it  is  criminal  to 
destroy,  unless  you  can  furnish  something  at  least  a  little 
better  than  that  which  you  have  destroyed. 

Many  of  those  who  cry  persistently,  "Believe  noth- 
ing," are  the  ones  that  believe  the  most,  for  in  every 
denial  lies  an  affirmation  of  Truth. 

I  noticed  that  while  I  was  in  the  so-called  orthodox 
Churches,  I  had  a  sense  of  restfulness  and  substantiality, 
that  I  did  not  have  elsewhere.  This  fact  surprised  me, 
until  it  occurred  to  me  that  the  explanation  lay,  prob- 
ably, in  the  fact  that  the  people  gathered  there  were 
settled  in  an  old  and  well  established  line  of  thought. 
So  I  kept  on  making  the  rounds,  growing  ever  more  and 
more  weary  of  myself,  and  tired  of  seeking,  and  trying 
to  think  it  all  out. 


50  SIFTED  THROUGH 

One  day  I  made  the  acquaintance  of  a  man  I  will  call 
Smith,  who  proved  a  great  help  to  me  in  an  indirect 
way.  He  belonged  to  that  class  that  tells  everybody 
what  not  to  do.  One  day,  while  we  were  out  seeking  for 
some  new  occult  teaching,  we  heard  a  man  shouting, 
* '  Keep  away  from  them,  they  are  hypnotists !  hypocrites ! 
fakirs !  liars ! ' '  "  What  is  the  man  talking  about  ?"  I  in- 
quired of  a  listener. 

"Of  the  workers  at  the  Rescue  Mission,'*  he  replied. 
"They  are  healing  the  sick  and  wounded,  teaching  and 
comforting  the  hopeless  and  broken-hearted,  uniting  in 
the  bonds  of  love,  members  of  family  and  friends  long 
separated  by  wrong  thinking,  and  the  speaker  does  not 
like  the  names  they  are  using  while  doing  the  work." 

"What  is  he  doing?"  I  asked. 

"Nothing,  and  that  is  why  he  has  so  much  time  and 
energy  to  denounce  those  who  are  doing  something, ' '  was 
the  reply. 

The  man's  words  stirred  me  all  thru  and  intensified 
my  hunger  for  Truth,  and  I  hurried  on.  Smith  caught 
me  by  the  arm,  "Look  at  that !"  he  ejaculated.  I  looked 
and  saw  two  priests  helping  two  men  wild  with  grief 
and  anguish,  into  an  open  church,  where  they  tenderly 
ministered  unto  them. 

' '  The  hypocrites ! ' '  snarled  Smith,  but  I  turned  on  him 
with,  ' '  Now,  look  here,  Smith,  during  all  the  time  I  have 
known  you,  I  have  never  seen  you  give  a  bit  of  real 
help  to  any  one;  I  have  never  heard  you  speak  a  help- 
ful, encouraging,  comforting  word  to  any  one;  in  view 
of  this  fact,  what  right  have  you  to  condemn  these 
priests?  These  black-gowned  men  have  evidently  got 
something  worth  while.  What  is  it  ?  You  do  not  know, 
I  am  going  to." 

A  look  of  horror  passed  over  Smith's  face.  "You  do 
not  mean  to  tell  me  you  would  go  into  a  Catholic 
Church?" 

"Catholic,  Protestant,  Jew,  Mohammedan,  Buddhist, 


MY  SEARCH  FOB  TRUTH  51 

it  matters  not  to  me,  if  they  have  the  Truth  I  seek.  I 
have  always  accepted,  and  stood  by,  everything  that 
appealed  to  me  to  be  for  the  best  good  of  Humanity,  and 
I  am  not  going  to  turn  sneak  and  coward  now,"  I  said 
sternly. 

"I  see  you  are  not  of  my  class,  good-bye,"  said  Smith 
curtly,  and  so  we  parted. 

The  moonlight  shone  upon  the  tall,  picturesque  palms, 
and  white-blossomed  orange  trees,  and  the  roses  and 
lillies  beckoned  to  me,  they  were  perfectly  tranquil. 
Had  they  found  the  truth  that  is  freedom?  Can  any- 
thing be  more  enticing  than  Nature  by  moonlight  ? 

The  words  my  mother  and  brother  spoke  to  me,  it 
seemed  so  long  ago,  rose  up  and  took  possession  of  me. 
"  Prejudice,  opinions,  beliefs,  supposed  facts — all,  and 
everything  that  hinders,  I  gather  up  right  here  and 
now  and  throw  to  the  winds,"  I  said,  "naked  I  enter 
this  garden,  and  here  I  stay,  until  the  Truth  I  seek  comes 
tome." 

Peace  such  as  I  had  never  known  before  took  posses- 
sion of  me.  I  went  to  a  secluded  nook  and  lay  quietly 
down. 

Then  the  Vision  came  to  me.  The  earth  was  wrapped 
in  blackness,  and  no  object  was  wholly  discernible  to 
my  sight.  Phantom-like,  grotesque  objects  flitted  before 
me,  and  Vanished.  Suddenly  a  Light  appeared,  as  a  huge 
white  cross  appeared  upon  a  mountain  before  me.  It 
radiated  a  dazzling  Light  in  which  I  saw  every  object 
sharply  revealed.  The  phantoms  vanished,  there  was 
nothing  ugly  nor  distorted  in  all  that  beautiful  Light. 

I  saw  that  many  men  and  women  sought  the  Light  for 
a  brief  moment,  but  as  one  ray  of  the  Light  was  absorbed 
by  them,  they  turned  with  altered  faces  and  went  out 
to  radiate  the  one  ray  among  their  fellow  beings,  who,  it 
seemed,  could  not  bear  any  greater  Light  than  the  one 
ray  afforded ;  and  the  people  that  followed  each  one-ray 
Light  teacher,  thought  they  had  the  whole  Light,  and 
fought  with  all  who  differed  from  them.  I  saw  there 


52  SIFTED  THROUGH 

was  now  and  then  a  man  who  stood  longer  in  the  Light 
than  the  others,  and  these  radiated  such  a  brilliancy  that 
many  people  seemed  unable  to  bear  it,  and  they  turned 
and  tried  to  stop  the  illumined  ones  from  teaching,  in 
many  cases  trying  to  kill  them. 

I  quickly  observed  that  whoever  absorbed  this  Light, 
became  changed  in  appearance,  and  wherever  the  Light 
fell,  beauty  arose  from  ugliness,  and  harmony  mani- 
fested. 

As  I  pondered  upon  the  meaning  of  all  this,  I  saw 
another  man,  a  very  ordinary  looking  man,  appear  in 
the  full  blaze  of  the  Light,  and  as  he  stayed  longer  in 
the  Light  than  the  others,  he  carried  away  more  than 
the  others.  I  also  made  the  discovery  that  whoever 
absorbed  this  Light,  became  themselves  illumined,  and 
wherever  they  went,  sad  faces  grew  bright,  and  the 
weak  became  strong,  and  the  ugly  grew  beautiful,  and 
harmony  came  out  of  discord. 

I  noticed  that  when  the  head  alone  of  a  person  was 
illumined,  he  did  not  radiate  the  amount  of  Light  those 
did  whose  hearts  also  were  illumined.  I  observed  and 
pondered. 

From  the  depths  of  my  being  I  cried  out  for  the 
Light  to  touch  me.  I  heard  my  name  called  and,  looking 
up,  beheld  my  long  idealized  mother  standing  beside 
me,  in  all  her  angelic  beauty.  Then  to  my  conscious- 
ness, the  heavens  opened  up  and  a  host  of  shining  ones 
appeared  and  sang;  and  the  birds  and  flowers  and  the 
fountains  of  running  water,  took  up  the  song,  the  chorus 
of  which  was,  "God  is  Love,  God  is  Love." 

Then  my  mother  said,  "My  son,  that  cross  represents 
the  One  Supreme  Power,  Dual  in  its  aspects  of  Love 
and  Wisdom,  which  united,  is  Truth — the  One  Light. 
Whoever  radiates  this  Light,  is  manifesting  Divinity. 
The  more  Light  he  has,  the  more  Divine  is  his  character, 
and  the  more  of  Divine  Love  and  Wisdom  he  will  mani- 
fest in  his  daily  life.  You  have  seen  the  world 's  Teach- 


MY  SEARCH  FOR  TRUTH  53 

era  standing  in  this  Light,  and  the  One  who  stood  there 
the  longest,  radiated  the  most  Light/' 

The  summing  up  of  all  Truth  in  all  religions  and 
philosophies  is :  Let  your  soul  become  so  full  of  Divine 
Love  and  Wisdom,  that  all  that  is  in  opposition  to  it  will 
be  swept  away  from  you,  then,  within  you  Truth  will  be 
generated  as  rapidly  as  you  need  it  and  use  it.  If  you 
use  a  power,  it  increases  rapidly,  but  if  you  do  not  use 
it,  you  lose  it.  To  teach  the  Law  of  spirit  communion, 
the  Law  of  cause  and  effect,  the  Law  of  vibration,  of 
rhythm,  correspondence,  etc.,  is  necessary  to  the  evolu- 
tion of  the  race,  but  the  fulfillment  of  every  Law  is  Love, 
and  against  Its  manifestations  there  is  no  law  of  God 
or  man. 

"0  Infinite  Love,"  I  cried,  "fill  me,  even  me,  so  full 
of  Thyself  that  I  may  go  out  into  all  the  world  as  a 
Light-bearer— a  truth-giver!"  Then  a  Voice,  like  the 
music  of  the  spheres,  like  the  melody  of  countless  realms 
of  angelic  beings,  like  the  voice  of  the  sunlight,  the  voice 
of  the  falling  dewdrops,  the  voice  of  the  Soul  of  Things 
ever  speaking  in  the  silence,  replied: 

' '  Thy  prayer,  0  aspiring  one,  is  answered,  Go ! "  and 
the  Vision  faded.  J.  R.  F. 


CHAPTER  VII 
THE  REALMS  OF  DARKNESS 

HERE  are  many  people  who  believe  in  re-incar- 
nation, because  it  appeals  to  their  vanity,  feeds 
their  self-love,  and  is  an  endless  source  of  en- 
tertainment. 

Ee-incarnation  is,  to  the  believers,  what  Salvation  is 
to  the  believing  Church-member — easy  and  comforting; 
but,  if  a  person  has  a  rea£  knowledge  of  Salvation  or  of 
re-incarnation,  he  has  a  deep  conviction  of  a  Truth  that 
clears  his  vision  and  lifts  him  ever  higher  and  higher 
above  the  darkness  and  miasma  of  selfishness.  He  has  a 
stronger  grip  upon  eternal  things,  and  a  broader  and 
ever  increasing  understanding  of  life  as  it  really  is. 

My  work,  since  leaving  my  body,  has  been  confined 
entirely  to  the  realms  of  darkness,  and  after  all  these 
years,  I  think  I  ought  to  be  able  to  give  you  something 
worth  while. 

Truly  it  is  written  that  Truth  is  simple.  The  so- 
called  enlightenment  which  the  world  boasts  of,  has  made 
life  very  complex,  and  greatly  increased  its  burdens. 
The  lauded  inventions  of  this  time,  which  are  to  do 
away  with  hard  manual  labor,  have  simply  shifted  the 
heavy  burdens  of  every-day  life,  from  the  physical  to 
the  mental  plane,  but  have  not  lessened  them. 

The  awful  carnage  of  the  past  few  years  could  never 
have  been,  but  for  modern  inventions  which  enabled  the 
cunning  ones  to  turn  their  plowshares  into  swords,  and 
their  pruning  hooks  into  spears. 

The  problem  of  how  to  feed,  clothe,  and  house  one's 

54 


THE  REALMS  OP  DARKNESS  55 

self  is  ever  growing  more  complex  and  perplexing.  Man 
accumulates  quantities  of  things  which  he  has  no  real 
use  for,  and  which,  sooner  or  later,  he  finds  burdensome. 
He  houses  himself  extravagantly  to  make  room  for  his 
"  things, "  and  drops  from  the  weariness  of  it  all.  He 
eats  complicated  and  unnatural  food,  and  sickens  and 
ages  as  the  result. 

The  machinery  of  Evolution  is  running  in  high  gear 
at  the  present  time,  and  those  whose  temperature  regis- 
ters normal,  are  the  exceptions  to  the  rule. 

As  it  is  on  the  physical  plane,  so  it  is  on  the  mental. 
Mankind,  who  has  ever  sought  for  an  easy  way  to  save 
himself,  thru  some  highly  complicated  method,  best 
known  to  himself — is  still  treading  the  same  path  with 
different  colored  glasses  on. 

He  wants  Truth,  but  he  wants  it  highly  seasoned — so 
complicated  that  he  cannot  taste  the  original  flavor. 
He  wants  something  "occult,"  weird,  spectacular — 
something  that  will  give  him  thrills,  and  delude  him  into 
the  belief  that  he  is  the  favorite  of  some  highly  illumined 
"inn^r  circle*'  of  sup^r-human  beings;  or,  he  wants 
something:  so  abstruse,  that  the  fact  that  he  can  compre- 
hend it,  testifies  to  his  mental  superiority;  or,  still  an- 
other class  demand  onlv  that  which  is  to  the  outer 
senses  beautiful,  beguiling,  witching,  sensuous — soft  as 
the  lullaby  song  which  the  mother  uses  to  lull  her 
babe  to  sleep;  the  song  of  the  purely  selfish,  who  seek 
to  "  demonstrate "  for  self  and  cares  not  for  others,  so 
long  as  their  own  dream  of  bliss  remains  unbroken. 

People  from  the  classes  I  have  mentioned  are  utterly 
worthless  to  us  as  helpers — as  worthless  as  the  hypo- 
critical religionist,  or  those  who  say,  "Lord,  Lord," 
while  their  hearts  are  far  from  Him. 

A  very  important  thing  to  know,  is  what  class  of 
people  we  find  in  the  Realm  of  Darkness.  The  purely 
selfish,  irrespective  of  nationality,  class  or  religion. 


56  SIFTED  THROUGH 

It  is  individual  development  that  counts,  and  one's 
individual  development  depends  entirely  upon  his  con- 
sciousness of  Truth,  and  his  ability  to  put 'it  into  ex- 
pression. 

The  more  absorbed  in  lower  self-interest  one  is,  the 
dimmer  and  more  distorted  is  his  vision  of  Truth. 

Only  two  classes  of  people  are  of  real  worth  as  work- 
ers in  the  darkness  of  sin:  the  spiritual  soul  that  has 
become  Christ-centered,  and  therefore  has  lost  self — that 
is,  personality — in  the  Divine  Image,  and  the  reclaimed 
sinner  who  knoivs  how  he  was  reclaimed,  and  longs  to 
have  every  other  sinner  share  his  new-found  blessedness. 

In  the  Realms  of  Darkness,  we  find  not  only  religious 
hypocrites,  but  political,  and  big-business  hypocrites. 
A  liar  is  one  who  intends  and  tries  to  deceive — and  the 
world  today,  is  thickly  populated  with  them.  They  may 
deceive  themselves,  and  some  of  the  time,  others — but 
they  cannot  deceive  God  or  spiritualized  beings. 

All  the  Hells  I  have  been  in,  with  one  exception,  are 
largely  populated  by  " respectable "  people!  Here  we 
find  people  who  heaped  together  earthly  treasures,  gold 
and  silver,  and  many  houses  and  much  land ;  those  who 
wrested  from  Mother  Earth  the  treasurers,  the  necessary 
things  of  life,  which  a  loving  Father  intended  for  all 
His  children,  but  which  they,  in  their  selfish  greed  have 
withheld,  regardless  of  the  suffering  which  inevitably 
follows. 

Here  also  are  those  who  have  sought  for  fame,  regard- 
less of  the  blighted  lives  and  ruined  souls  that  have 
marked  their  career.  Here  are  the  intellectually  proud, 
who  have  selfishly  devoted  time  and  strength  to  the  at- 
tainment of  knowledge  ( ? )  that  they  never  intend  to 
make  any  good  use  of.  Also  those  who  use  their  intel- 
lects to  mislead,  or  merely  to  amuse  others,  with  no 
higher  purpose  in  view. 

Selfishness  is  very  insidious,  and  the  more  selfish  a 
person  is,  the  blinder  he  is  to  his  own  imperfections.  We 


THE  REALMS  OP  DARKNESS  57 

see  a  child  walk  up  to  another  and  snatch  his  apple  away 
from  him,  and  we  say,  "what  a  selfish  boy,7'  but  if  the 
same  boy  had  cunningly  schemed  or  devised  a  plan 
whereby  he  could  have  obtained  the  apple — would  the 
onlookers  have  been  shocked  at  the  selfishness?  Or, 
would  they  have  applauded  the  brilliancy  of  the  mind 
that  devised  the  plan  ?  He  that  digs  a  pit,  shall  himself 
fall  into  one,  somewhere,  sometime. 

There  is  another  Hell?  Yes — there  we  find  the  class 
that  the  world  has  branded  criminal  Here  Fear  assumes 
gigantic  proportions,  and  stalks  through  the  darkness 
with  menacing  hands  uplifted;  here,  shadows  lurk,  and 
what  is  behind  them?  Here,  your  nightmares  seemingly 
become  real  at  last. 

Sin-sick,  sin-weary,  sin-worn,  like  naughty  children 
easily  frightened,  they  bewail  that  which  they  once  had 
and  through  their  own  misconduct,  have  lost — their 
liberty  and  opportunities  to  be  good  and  happy.  They 
have  sold  their  birthright,  for  what?  For  a  few  hours 
of  animal  gratification?  Such  a  fearful  price  to  pay! 
But  these  people  are  much  more  readily  reached  than 
the  others,  if  you  go  in  the  right  way,  and  with  the  Spirit 
of  Divine  Love  radiating  from  you. 

These  people  will  listen  eargerly  to  the  "Old,  old 
Story,  of  Jesus  and  His  Love,"  and  join  brokenly  in 
singing  that  hymn.  Here  they  have  One  Who  never 
turned  a  sinner  away,  but  Whose  tender  hand  touched 
the  fevered  brow,  the  leprous  body,  and  palsied  limbs, 
but  to  heal  and  bless.  He  was  one  who  was  human 
enough  to  know,  understand,  and  sympathize — and 
Divine  enough  to  love  the  sinner — mighty  enough  to 
save. 

It  is  so  easy  to  teach  them  of  the  human  Jesus,  Who 
trod  the  long,  hard  way  from  sin  to  righteousness — from 
grief  to  joy — from  weakness  to  strength ;  and  of  Christ, 
the  Son  of  God,  all-powerful  to  save,  to  wash  away  with 
all-cleansing  Love,  every  trace  of  sin  and  shame. 


58  SIFTED  THROUGH 

It  is  so  easy  to  teach  them  just  where  they  are  upon 
the  pathway,  and  why  they  are  there,  and  what  all  their 
hard,  bitter  experiences  may  do  for  them  and  others. 

Like  tired  children,  lost,  and  far  from  home,  they  will 
cling  to  you  sobbingly,  desperately,  provided  you  tell 
the  Story,  and  they  see  that  you  also  know  whereof  you 
speak. 

But  go  not  with  dogmas,  creeds,  theories — go  not  with 
high-sounding  phrases  and  doctrines;  go  not  with  soft, 
jeweled  hands  uplifted  in  warning ;  go  not  in  costly  ap- 
parel and  robe  of  self -righteousness,  go  not  with  the  "I 
am  God  and  the  Christ-w-you  theories ;  go  not  in  any  of 
those  ways,  lest  they  turn  and  rend  you. 

If  your  hands  are  worn  with  toil  and  your  face  marked 
with  traces  of  past  hardships  and  sufferings,  all  the  bet- 
ter— you  know;  go  in  His  Name  and  filled  with  His  Love, 
and  that  Love  will  win,  and  the  darkness  of  that  Hell 
will  be  changed  to  light,  and  its  groans  of  anguish,  to 
songs  of  joy  and  gratitude;  yes,  it  will,  to  its  remotest 
bounds,  echo  with  the  songs  of  the  redeemed. — H.  H. 


CHAPTER  VIII 
MY  VISION— (A  SYMBOLIC  VISION) 

STOOD  upon  a  plain,  one  among  many  others. 
Back  of  us  was  a  mountain  whose  snowy  summit 
gleamed  in  the  dazzling  rays  of  the  sun,  before 
us  rose  another  mountain,  whose  summit  was  unseen  by 
those  who  stood  at  the  base.  Up  the  rugged  sides  of  the 
mountain,  ran  many  narrow  pathways,  strangely  inter- 
woven. Suddenly,  among  us  appeared  a  stranger  of 
majestic  bparin<?.  clad  in  a  flowinsr  robe.  His  keen,  dark 
eyes  searched  the  multitude  around  him  for  a  moment, 
then  in  a  commanding  voice,  and  with  hand  outstretched 
toward  the  mountain  before  us,  he  said,  "Upon  yonder 
mountain  lies  wealth  untold ;  whoever  gains  its  summit, 
before  the  last  rav  of  the  setting:  sun  shall  fade  from 
the  snowv  pinnacle  of  the  mountain  back  of  you,  shall 
receive  the  treasure." 

He  vanished  from  our  sight,  and  then  began  a  wild 
scramble  for  the  mountain  sides.  Men  and  women  in 
the  prime  of  life,  men  and  women  aged,  bent  and  gray, 
young  men  and  maidens  struggled  and  scrambled  for 
the  mountain  paths. 

ImDelled  by  an  irresistible  inlpulse,  I  moved  forward 
with  the  rest.  Pictures  of  the  good  I  might  accomplish, 
if  wealth  were  mine,  danced  before  my  vision,  and  I 
scarce  knew  how  I  made  my  way  along. 

I  had  not  gone  far,  when  I  saw  an  aged  woman  whose 
clothing  had  become  entangled  in  a  thorn  bush;  I 
stopped,  and  with  some  difficulty  extricated  her.  She 
was  very  grateful  and  with  childlike  confidence,  tucked 
her  hand  under  my  arm  and  said  simply,  "I  will  go 

59 


60  SIFTED  THROUGH 

the  rest  of  the  way  with  you,  I  am  not  seeking  this 
wealth  for  myself,  but  to  help  others  in  great  need. ' ' 

Soon  I  heard  the  sound  of  labored  bre'athing,  and 
glancing  down,  saw  a  spaniel  with  a  puppy  in  her  mouth. 
True  to  the  master  who  had  heedlessly  deserted  her,  and 
true  to  her  offspring  that  she  would  not  leave  behind, 
the  poor  creature  was  nearly  spent  with  her  efforts,  and 
her  soft  brown  eyes  looked  pleadingly  into  mine. 

I  gathered  up  the  kitchen  apron  I  wore  and  taking 
the  little  creature  from  its  mother's  mouth,  I  stowed 
it  safely  away.  The  grateful  dog  licked  my  hands  and 
walked  quietly  by  my  side. 

Following  the  steep  pathway  around  a  jutting  cliff, 
we  found  an  aged  man,  who  had  fallen  in  some  entang- 
ling vines  and  was  unable  to  rise.  I  found  his  cane  and 
helped  him  upon  his  feet,  and  with  many  expressions  of 
gratitude,  he  said,  "I,  too,  will  go  with  you  the  rest  of 
the  way." 

We  had  not  journeyed  far,  when  a  large,  strong  man 
went  rushing  past  us,  rolling  a  huge  boulder  in  our  path- 
way, which,  in  his  mad  rush  he  had  dislodged.  Pointing 
to  the  distant  mountain,  he  said  to  me,  "Look  at  the  sun ! 
You  foolish  woman,  what  are  you  bothering  with  those 
old  people  for?  Look  out  for  yourself  and  let  every- 
body else  do  the  same. "  * '  God  never  permits  us  to  gain 
anything  by  being  unkind  to  others, ' '  I  called  after  him 
as  he  disappeared. 

We  had  not  proceeded  far,  before  we  heard  the  sound 
of  weeping  and  groaning,  as  of  one  in  great  pain.  In- 
vestigation proved  that  the  man  who  had  so  recently 
passed  us,  had  in  some  way,  dislodged  a  fallen  tree,  the 
trunk  of  which  had  fallen  across  him,  pinning  him  help- 
lessly to  the  ground.  With  patient  persistence,  our 
united  efforts  succeeded  in  extricating  him.  His  face 
flushed  very  red  as  he  saw  me,  for  he  must  have  recalled 
the  advice  he  so  recently  had  given  me,  however  he 
made  no  effort  to  outdistance  us. 


THE  REALMS  OF  DARKNESS  61 

Very  slowly  it  seemed  to  us,  we  made  our  way  steadily 
up  the  precipitous  pathway.  Our  many  companions  had 
long  ago  chosen  easier  and  more  shaded  pathways,  but 
somehow  I  knew  they  all  led  into  one  pathway  at  the 
summit,  which  we  now  and  then  caught  a  passing 
glimpse  of. 

Several  times  my  companions  called  my  attention  to  a 
strange  dark  object,  which  seemed  to  block  our  way  near 
the  mountain  top,  and  they  anxiously  discussed  the  mat- 
ter, but  when  they  appealed  to  me,  I  said  simply,  "We 
are  never  required  to  do  an  impossible  thing,  and  if  we 
do  our  part  well  all  the  way,  God  will  attend  to  the 
rest." 

Thus  comforted,  we  journeyed  on  until  our  attention 
was  arrested  by  the  wailing  of  an  infant.  I  glanced  at 
the  sunlight,  dangerously  nearing  the  mountain  peak, 
but  without  a  moment's  hesitation,  I  plunged  into  the 
bushes  that  fringed  a  precipice  and  when  I  emerged,  I 
carried  upon  my  breast  a  sobbing  and  helpless  infant, 
which  some  one  had  abandoned. 

We  sprang  forward  eagerly,  for  we  were  near  our 
journey's  end,  and  were  soon  to  be  confronted  by  that 
strange  something  which  appeared  somtimes  dark  and 
menacing,  sometimes  bright  and  inviting. 

I  glanced  at  the  distant  mountain  and  saw  there  was 
not  a  moment  to  lose.  At  this  instant,  there  fell  upon 
our  ears,  that  most  pathetic  of  all  sounds,  the  bleating  of 
a  lost  lamb  at  eventide. 

For  an  instant  I  hesitated,  then  sprang  from  the  path- 
way into  the  thicket  of  stunted  bushes.  When  I  returned 
with  the  lamb,  I  found  I  was  ahead  of  my  companions. 
I  glanced  back  at  the  mountain ;  the  sinking  sun  bathed 
its  snowy  crags  in  a  flood  of  rosy  light,  and  rested  in  a 
glittering  crown  upon  its  topmost  peak.  I  glanced 
ahead,  and  upon  the  mountain  summit  I  had  so  nearly 
gained,  shot  a  ray  of  dazzling  light.  Lo !  the  sunset  of 
the  old  day,  was  the  sunrise  of  the  new ! 


62  SIFTED  THROUGH 

Then  something  happened — I  scarcely  knew  what  or 
how:  the  aged  couple  I  had  journeyed  with,  were  trans- 
formed into  angels  of  light,  and  the  lamb  and  the  infant 
I  clasped  to  my  breast,  suddenly  floated  before  me, 
radiant  cherubs. 

I  heard  the  sound  of  once  familiar  footsteps,  no  more 
weak  and  feeble,  but  vibrant  with  joyous  life;  and 
voices,  that  the  world  tells  me  are  forever  hushed  in 
death,  fell  upon  my  ears.  With  outstretched  arms  I 
waited — eager,  expectant — I  am  still  waiting  in  perfect 
faith.— I.  L.  B. 


CHAPTEK  IX 

THE  DREAM  THAT  IS  NOT  ALL  A 
DREAM 

DREAMED  it  was  twilight,  and  I  was  climbing 
a  steep  hill.  It  was  a  narrow  pathway  and  full 
of  obstacles.  I  was  heavily  laden  and  kept  con- 
stantly stumbling,  now  and  then  I  dropped  a  bundle,  but 
for  some  reason  did  not  stop  to  regain  it.  By  my  side 
walked — a  Specter. 

The  fourth  time  I  fell  sprawling  among  the  stones,  I 
exclaimed  angrily,  "What  is  that  thing  I  tumbled  over?" 

"The  books  you,  yourself  have  written/'  said  the 
Specter  calmly,  "what  did  you  write  them  for?" 

Startled  into  perfect  honesty,  I  replied,  "For  money, 
of  course. "  "  Well  you  got  it, ' '  said  the  Specter,  ' '  what 
are  you  grumbling  about  ? ' ' 

After  a  pause  I  said,  "The  money  does  not  seem  to 
be  doing  me  any  good  right  now."  "No,  and  it  is  not 
likely  to,  you  should  have  thot  of  that  before. ' ' 

I  glared  at  the  Specter,  but  he  never  winced,  it  was 
evident  I  was  dealing  with  a  genuine  Specter — one  that 
insisted  upon  speaking  the  truth,  regardless  of  the  con- 
ventionalities of  polite  society.  At  last  I  paused  in  my 
headlong  pace,  I  was  exhausted,  I  could  go  no  farther. 
' '  Sit  down  here, ' '  said  the  obliging  Specter,  and  without 
a  glance  about  me,  I  obeyed  him.  As  soon  as  I  got  my 
breath,  I  looked  about  me,  and  to  my  horror,  saw  that  I 
was  seated  upon  a  narrow  board  over  a  dark  and  fear- 
fully suggestive  chasm. 

I  looked  wildly  for  some  place  to  leap  to,  but  nothing 

63 


64  SIFTED  THROUGH 

substantial  appeared.  " Better  keep  quiet,"  said  the 
Specter  grimly,  "you  are  situated  badly  enough  now," 
and  I  agreed  with  him. 

Soon  a  throng  of  people  came  in  sight.  The  first  one 
that  paused,  was  a  middle  aged  man;  he  was  well-fed, 
well-dressed,  and  his  pockets  looked  suggestively  bulgy. 
" Beautiful  day  we  have  had,"  he  said  pleasantly, 
'  *  gorgeous  sunset,  hope  you  did  not  miss  it.  Lovely  path- 
way this,  many  fine  geological  specimens  all  about, 
magnificent  views  all  along  the  way.  That  chasm  under- 
neath you  is  a  botanical  treat.  I  never  saw  such  luxu- 
rious ferns  before,"  and  with  a  cheerful  nod,  he  passed 
on. 

Young  people  were  constantly  rushing  by,  but  they 
seemed  to  have  but  one  idea:  to  gain  the  top  of  the 
mountain,  and  they  never  noticed  me  at  all. 

The  next  that  paused  was  an  elderly  man  wearing 
spectacles  and  a  gray  suit.  He  carried  a  note-book  under 
his  arm,  and  seemed  searching  for  something,  when  his 
eyes  fell  on  me.  He  paused,  and  exclaimed,  "  Well,  well ! 
At  last  I  have  found  a  real  psychological  problem.  My 
good  man,  will  you  kindly  tell  me  by  what  chain  of  cir- 
cumstances you  were  ever  led  into  the  position  you  now 
occupy  ? ' ' 

"Yes,"  said  a  second  man,  joining  the  first,  "do  tell 
us  the  cause  which  produced  this  most  unusual  effect. 
I  must  make  a  note  of  it  and  bring  it  before  my  class 
tonight." 

Here  they  began  a  discussion  regarding  the  probable 
width  and  depth  of  the  chasm  beneath  me,  and  so  passed 
out  of  my  sight. 

The  next  one  who  stopped,  was  a  middle  aged  woman, 
strong  and  portly,  and  she  kept  consulting  a  very  fami- 
liar looking  book.  She  gazed  at  me  critically  and  then 
said,  '  *  Glorious  evening  sir,  you  ought  to  be  very  thank- 
ful you  have  such  a  beautiful  spot  to  rest  in,  not  that 
you  need  rest,  for  you  are  perfectly  well  and  strong, 
and  spirit  never  grows  weary. ' ' 


THE  DREAM  THAT  Is  Nor  ALL  A  DREAM  65 

"Perhaps  Madam,"  I  replied  rather  tartly  I  fear,  "If 
you  had  sat  upon  this  narrow  board  until  your  limbs 
were  as  numb  as  mine  are,"  she  stopped  me  with  a 
queenly  gesture,  and  a  look  of  well  studied  indifference 
came  to  her  self-satisfied  countenance,  as  she  said,  "My 
dear  sir,  you  are  under  a  delusion,  you  are  bound  by 
error,  by  wrong  thinking.  God  never  made  a  pain  nor 
afflicted  anyone  by  any  inconveniences  whatever.  I  have 
been  in  truth  many  years,  and  I  know  all  about  it."  She 
passed  on.  I  glanced  at  the  Specter  who  was  sitting 
close  beside  me,  but  he  was  looking  the  other  way. 

My  next  caller  was  a  long  visaged,  long  haired,  long 
whiskered  man  who  looked  as  if  he  had  never  laughed 
in  his  life.  He  looked  at  me  disapprovingly  and  said, 
"There  is  stormy  weather  coming  sir,  a  long,  cold  rain 
is  due  about  this  time — when  my  rheumatism  gets  bad, 
it  is  a  sure  sign.  You  better  get  in  under  cover,  they 
have  terrible  floods  in  these  mountains,  and  they  come 
suddenly.  Don't  delay  or  you  may  be  too  late." 

"If  you  will  please  tell  me  how  I  am  going  to  get 
under  cover,  or  anywhere  else,  I  will  be  grateful  to  you, ' ' 
I  said.  He  took  from  his  pocket  a  paper  covered  book, 
and  held  it  toward  me.  It  was  entitled,  "The  Mysteries 
of  Revelation  Explained,"  by  the  Rev.  Doolittle  Talk- 
much. 

The  Specter  grinned  exasperatingly  and  I  wanted  to 
punch  him,  but  did  not  dare  attempt  it.  At  last  he 
spoke,  "Did  you  ever  write  anything  that  could  help 
one  out  of  trouble?"  I  turned  him  a  cold  shoulder,  I 
had  one  to  turn.  Just  then  our  strained  relations  were 
relieved  by  an  elderly  woman,  who  was  leading  a  boy 
by  the  hand.  She  paused  and  looked  at  me  pleasantly, 
opened  the  bag  she  was  carrying,  and  took  from  it  a 
wool  muffler,  which  she  wrapped  around  the  boy,  ex- 
plaining as  she  did  so,  that  "he  was  just  up  from  the 
measles. ' ' 

She  then  asked  me  if  I  could  give  her  any  reliable 
instructions  regarding  the  road  and  country.  When  I 


66  SIFTED  THROUGH 

informed  her  that  several  thousand  volumes  had  been 
written  upon  the  subject,  she  said  she  was  told  that  no 
two  writers  agreed,  and  would  I  tell  her  which  one  was 
correct. 

I  was  obliged  to  confess  that  I  was  a  stranger  and  had 
given  the  matter  little  thought,  until  compelled  to.  '  *  If 
I  can  ever  get  out  of  my  present  predicament, ' '  I  began, 
when  she  exclaimed,  "Oh!  you  poor  dear  man!  What  a 
dreadful  fix  you  are  in.  "Why  don't  you  get  off  that 
perch?  You  will  get  numb  with  cold,  and  rheumatism 
will  set  in,  and  then  where  will  you  be  ? "  That  was  the 
question  I  wanted  answered,  but  got  no  chance  to  say 
so,  for  she  went  on,  "You  look  kinder  sick  and  speckled, 
you  are  sure  you  haven't  got  the  measles?  Here  take 
this  shawl  and  put  it  around  you — and  this  bag  of 
cookies  too.  I  am  so  sorry  for  you !  How  did  you  ever 
get  into  such  a  scrape  ?  You  must  have  been  very  reck- 
less. " 

At  this  moment  a  sharp  visaged,  angular  woman  ap- 
peared on  the  scene.  ' '  Melvina  Peters ! ' '  she  exclaimed 
sharply,  "if  I  am  not  ashamed  of  you — my  own  sister — 
talking  with  a  strange  man,  and  in  the  night  too.  Come 
away  at  once,  he  is  a  wicked  man,  any  one  can  see  that. ' ' 
The  Specter  gave  a  little  cough,  but  I  did  not  glance  at 
him. 

Next  came  several  middle  aged  women,  and  with  them 
were  a  few  white  haired,  rather  benevolent  looking  men. 
I  was  getting  desperate.  Every  moment  my  situation 
seemed  more  and  more  unendurable.  I  called  to  the 
most  kindly  looking  man  of  all  and  he  came  at  once 
and  sympathized  with  me  deeply.  "If  I  were  only  free 
to  do  as  I  like,"  he  said  sadly,  "but  I  am  bound  hand 
and  foot  and  do  not  know  how  to  free  myself." 

"Come  along,  Father,  come  along,"  said  a  dark-eyed 
woman,  catching  him  by  the  arm, '  *  Don 't  waste  time  and 
strength  that  you  need  for  more  important  things,  the 
man  must  work  out  his  own  salvation." 


THE  DREAM  THAT  Is  NOT  ALL  A  DREAM  67 

"The  trouble  with  you  is,"  said  another  woman,  "you 
are  thinking  the  wrong  thoughts.  Stop  thinking  thoughts 
of  danger  and  it  will  cease  to  manifest  in  your  life.  Help 
can  come  to  you  from  nowhere  except  within  yourself. 
Oh !  If  you  would  only  come  to  the  hall  on  the  corner  of 
Main  and  X  streets,  and  hear  our  new  speaker  explain 
the  power  of  thought,  you  would  soon  know  how  to  free 
yourself  from  this  seeming  danger. ' ' 

"Yes,"  exclaimed  an  enthusiastic  voice  near  the  first 
speaker,  "it  is  all  in  knowing  just  how.  Do  come  and 
hear  Mr.  Cloud  Flier,  he  is  perfectly  lovely. ' ' 

I  thought  I  heard  an  ominous  crack  beneath  me  and 
I  shivered.  I  did  not  know  what  fate  awaited  me,  if  I 
went  into  that  chasm,  but  I  began  to  question  whether 
or  not,  it  might  bring  relief  to  try  it.  I  turned  to  the 
Specter  and  said,  ' '  It  was  you,  sir,  that  got  me  into  this 
plight,  before  morning  I  shall  be  a  dead  man." 

"You  are  a  dead  man  now,"  he  replied  calmly,  "can 
a  dead  man  die  ? "  I  was  not  prepared  to  solve  any  un- 
necessary problems,  so  I  turned  my  attention  to  the  next 
bunch  of  people. 

"Look  at  that  man,  will  you!"  exclaimed  the  fore- 
most, "What  dreadful  Karma  he  must  have  made  for 
himself.  What  are  you  going  to  do,  George  ? ' '  The  man 
she  addressed  was  pulling  a  rope  out  of  his  coat  pocket 
and  said  nothing.  "For  goodness  sake,  George,  don't 
meddle  with  the  working  of  the  Law.  He  has  to  work 
this  Karma  out  for  himself.  If  you  help  him  out,  it 
will  in  some  way  come  back  to  him  again." 

"Not  if  I  know  it,"  I  said  under  my  breath.  "Truth 
at  last, ' '  whispered  the  Specter,  but  whether  he  referred 
to  my  words  or  the  woman's  remarks,  was  not  clear  to 
me. 

"You  are  worrying,  that  is  plainly  seen,"  said  a  blue- 
eyed  miss,  "your  face  shows  it,  and  you  will  never  find 


68  SIFTED  THROUGH 

anything  any  better,  until  you  stop  this  worrying.  Look 
up  into  the  calm,  still  sky  above  you,  and  watch  the  stars 
moving  on  serenely  in  their  orbits  and,  knowing  that 
the  same  Law  that  holds  them  in  their  places,  is  guiding 
you,  let  the  Peace  of  the  Infinite  fill  your  soul." 

Another  crack — louder  than  any  before.  I  was  silent. 
How  can  one  who  hears  the  crack  of  doom,  think  of 
anything  to  say? 

"You  poor  man,"  said  a  pathetic  voice,  "I  trust  you 
have  made  your  peace  with  God.  He  is  a  vengeful  God 
you  know,  but  I  hope  it  is  well  with  your  soul.  You  do 
not  look  very  resigned,  but  I  trust  you  are. ' ' 

"He  does  not  look  like  a  bad  man,"  said  a  second 
speaker,  "are  you  a  bad  man,  sir?  If  you  would  only 
confess  it  would  help  you  greatly." 

"Better  tell  the  truth  now,"  whispered  the  Specter, 
and  I  said  slowly,  ' '  I  am  not  very  bad,  probably  because 
I  never  wanted  to  be ;  and  I  am  not  very  good,  probably 
for  the  -same  reason.  I  rather  guess,  Madam,  that 
whether  I  am  good  or  bad,  depends  largely  upon  the 
standard  I  am  to  be  judged  by." 

"You  talk  like  a  sinner,"  said  the  woman,  "but  the 
Lord  can  save  you." 

1 '  He  will  have  to, "  I  said,  l '  for  it  is  very  evident  that 
none  of  His  children  will  lend  a  hand." 

"Come  on,  Sarah  Jane,  come  on,"  said  the  woman 
hurriedly,  addressing  a  former  speaker,  then  turning  to 
me  she  said  piously,  "I  hope  sir,  that  when  I  reach  yon 
beautiful  sphere,  I  will  find  you  there  and  walk  with 
you  on  the  streets  of  shining  gold. ' ' 

"Thank  you,"  I  said,  "if  I  ever  get  out  of  this  fix, 
I  will  know  how  to  sympathize  with  the  down  and  outer, 
and  I  will  never  desert  anybody  until  I  have  done  my 
level  best  for  them.  Streets  of  gold  will  be  a  last  resort 
proposition. ' ' 

"Now  you  are  getting  somewhere,"  said  the  Specter 
cheerfully.  There  was  a  long  silence,  then  I  turned  to 


THE  DREAM  THAT  Is  NOT  ALL  A  DREAM  69 

the  Specter  and  said,  * '  I  think  it  may  be  true  that  I  am 
getting  just  what  I  deserve,  but  how  long  is  this  thing 
going  to  last?*'  "As  long  as  you  let  it,"  was  the  grim 
reply. 

The  next  that  came  along  the  pathway  was  a  pale- 
faced,  slender  woman  with  dreamy  dark  eyes.  She 
gazed  at  me  for  several  moments  with  a  far-away  be- 
seeching look,  and  then  said  earnestly,  "0  sir,  my  dear 
sir,  my  guide  will  not  let  me  go  any  farther  until  I  have 
given  you  a  message  from  the  Spirit  World.  You  have 
a  host  of  loved  ones  on  the  other  side  that  are  hovering 
over  you,  and  oh,  they  bring  you  so  much  love.  They 
have  a  beautiful  home  prepared  for  you  over  there,  and 
they  tell  me  to  tell  you,  that  it  will  soon  be  much  better 
for  you.  Yes,  better  things  are  coming,  and  you  will 
soon  be  in  a  better  place.  Yes,  they  tell  me  to  tell  you. ' ' 

Another  crack  and  the  board  quivered,  or  else  I  did. 
"You  are  not  now  under  the  right  conditions  to  recog- 
nize truth  when  it  is  spoken  to  you, ' '  said  the  Specter.  I 
was  angry.  ' '  May  all  the  truth  that  has  been  spoken  to 
me,  since  I  sat  over  this  chasm,  hang  on  the  trees  in 
flowers,  after  I  am" — I  was  going  to  say,  dead,  but 
changed  it  to,  ''away  from  here." 

A  man  and  woman  came  leisurely  along  and  seeing 
me,  paused  in  evident  amazement.  "When  were  you 
born  ? ' '  asked  the  woman,  ' '  0  yes,  I  see.  Planetary  con- 
ditions are  very  bad  for  you  at  present.  Let  me  see — 
your  rising  sign  is — 0  yes,  well  you  must  expect  a  good 
many  unpleasant  conditions  to  overcome  for  a  time,  but 
take  courage,  Jupiter  will  soon  be  in  the  ascendant,  and 
then  your  troubles  will  be  over." 

1 '  Come  along,  come  away,  Maria, ' '  said  the  man,  catch- 
ing her  by  the  arm.  "I  don't  believe  in  wasting  breath 
on  such  ignorant  people.  He  surely  has  some  relative 
who  can  help  him  out,  there  is  no  reason  why  strangers 
should  be  bothered — besides  his  sign  and  your  sign  are 
in  exact  opposition,  and  you  know  fire  and  water  will 
never  agree." 


72  SIFTED  THROUGH 

Just  then  I  thought  of  the  Specter,  and  found  him 
close  beside  me,  silently  waiting.  "See  here  sir,"  I  said, 
'  *  I  think  that  under  an  overruling  Providence,  you  have 
been  my  best  friend  after  all,  tell  me  who  are  you  ? ' ' 

The  Specter  faced  me  squarely — "I  am  yourself,"  he 
said  quietly. 

"Myself!  Myself!"  I  exclaimed,  "then  I  must  have 
been  turned  back  side  front,  or  inside  out." 

"It  is  very  likely,"  said  the  Specter.— S.  C. 


CHAPTER  X 
A  KAINY  DAY 

AIN,  rain!  Yes,  we  have  rain,  of  course.  Is 
not  this  a  duplicate  earth-realm  ?  In  some  places 
it  rains  nearly  all  the  time,  in  other  places,  sel- 
dom. If  one  is  in  a  rainy  frame  of  mind,  he  can  find 
the  rain. 

I  love  the  music  of  it;  the  upspringing  of  the  newly 
born  grass  blades,  the  swelling  of  the  flower-buds,  the 
patter  of  the  drops  upon  the  leaves  and  upon  the  roofs 
of  humble  dwellings,  and  the  drip,  drip  from  thence  to 
the  ground ;  the  splash  and  gurgle  of  each  tiny  rain-made 
stream,  and  the  notes  of  joy  from  the  throats  of  such 
little  creatures  as  enjoy  it.  (By  the  way,  did  you  ever 
think  that  if  a  river  made  as  much  noise,  according  to 
the  volume  of  water  it  carries,  as  a  little,  trinkling 
streamlet  does,  what  the  effect  on  humanity  would  be  ? ) 

Yes;  it  rained  steadily  and  I  was  enjoying  it  hugely, 
when  I  heard  a  woman 's  voice  singing,  '  *  Hark  from  the 
tombs  a  doleful  sound."  I  could  hardly  believe  my 
sense  of  hearing,  for  I  had  supposed  that  that  hymn,  if 
no  other,  was  buried  beyond  resurrection. 

I  had  an  urge  to  be  about  my  Father's  business,  so  I 
followed  the  voice  to  a  little  cottage,  in  the  midst  of 
vines  and  shrubbery,  under  big,  wide-spreading  trees. 
The  feeble  light  of  a  solitary  candle  showed  a  thin,  sad- 
faced  woman  sitting  alone  in  the  gloom,  with  a  brown- 
eyed  spaniel  lying  at  her  feet. 

She  seemed  much  startled  when  I  presented  myself 
before  her.  "I  am  one  of  the  Mission  workers,  and  I 

73 


70  SIFTED  THROUGH 

My  head  reeled,  and  it  seemed  that  from  the  depths 
of  the  cavern  beneath  me,  mocking  voices  laughed  fiend- 
ishly. I  glanced  at  the  Specter,  he  was  placidly  watch- 
ing the  flight  of  a  bat  that  had  just  brushed  past  us.  I 
looked  up — the  constellations,  cold  and  unrelenting,  were 
wending  their  glittering  way  through  fathomless  space, 
and  heeded  not  a  speck  of  dust  like  me. 

Just  then  there  came  around  the  great  cliff,  that  half 
barred  the  pathway  so  many  had  passed  that  night,  a 
frail  looking  woman.  She  held  a  large  bundle  within 
one  arm  and  a  sleeping  babe  in  the  other.  Two  small 
children  were  clinging  to  her  skirts  crying  piteously  for 
home  and  sleep.  My  heart  was  stirred  by  pity,  and 
when  the  woman  turned  a  tear-stained  face  toward  me 
and  with  quivering  lips  said,  "0  sir,  you  have  a  kind 
fatherly  face,  I  am  sure  you  will  help  me  a  little  way 
with  my  babies." 

I  forgot  my  danger,  forgot  the  Specter,  forgot  the 
chasm,  and  best  and  most  important  of  all,  forgot  myself. 
I  leaped  into  the  path  beside  the  woman,  as  easily  as  a 
bird  might  have  done.  I  fastened  her  bundle  to  my  back 
and  taking  a  sobbing  child  in  each  arm,  we  started  up 
the  hill.  The  tired  face  of  the  woman  grew  bright  as 
we  journeyed  and  she  told  me  she  knew  she  had  found 
a  friend,  the  moment  she  saw  me,  because  of  my  strong 
resemblance  to  her  father,  who  had  promised  to  meet  her 
in  the  early  morning. 

More  and  more  closely  to  my  shoulders,  clung  the 
curly  heads  of  the  tired  babies  sound  asleep,  and  ever 
lighter  grew  my  heart,  for  I  was  learning  the  joy  of 
service;  and  the  constellations  that  had  seemed  so  cold 
and  far  away,  now  bent  over  me  in  loving  benediction. 

At  last  we  gained  a  resting  place  and  paused. 
"Look!"  I  exclaimed,  "it  is  already  growing  light!" 
Yes,  the  stars  in  the  eastern  heavens  were  growing  pale, 
and  the  snowy  cap  upon  the  great  dark  mountain  in  the 
west,  was  sparkling  with  a  wondrous  light.  From  some- 
where amid  the  light  came  forth  a  white-robed  man, 


THE  DREAM  THAT  Is  NOT  ALL  A  DREAM          71 

whom  the  woman  greeted  joyously  as  " Father."  He 
took  the  bundle  from  my  back,  and  unseen  by  his  daugh- 
ter, hurled  it  over  the  precipice ;  he  then  took  from  my 
arms  the  still  sleeping  babies  and  with  blessings  and 
grateful  words,  they  passed  out  of  my  sight  into  the 
morning;  for  over  the  hill  tops  and  forests,  shot  shafts 
of  dazzling  light,  and  in  their  glory  all  lesser  lights 
were  lost. 

A  myriad  insects  spread  their  rainbow-tinted  wings, 
and  from  a  score  of  feathered  throats,  came  a  burst  of 
joyous  melody,  a  new  day  had  dawned.  Within  myself, 
there  had  awakened  a  new  life,  a  life  I  was  never  before 
conscious  of.  I  glanced  down  the  pathway  I  had 
traveled,  and  was  astounded,  for  all  around  the  spot 
where  I  had  passed  so  many  hours  of  great  peril — as  I 
thought — every  shrub  and  tree  was  white  with  bell- 
shaped  flowers,  exhaling  a  sweet  fragrance  upon  the 
morning  air ;  they  had,  one  and  all,  spoken  some  truth. 

From  the  peaceful  valley  below,  came  the  sound  of 
church  bells;  some  priest  is  now  going  to  early  mass, 
I  thought,  I  wonder  if  he  is  going,  like  a  slave  driven 
under  the  lash  of  church  orders,  or  joyously,  as  one  who 
gives  loving  service?  I,  myself  was  filled  with  the  most 
unalloyed  joy  I  had  ever  known — the  joy  of  service — and 
in  and  through  the  performance  of  that  service,  I  had 
found  my  freedom.  As  I  listened  to  the  deep,  rich  tones 
of  the  bell,  rising  and  falling  upon  the  sweet  morning 
air,  there  stirred  within  me  an  irresistible  desire  to  do 
something  worth  while — something  of  real  help  to  those 
needing  it. 

I  felt  something  touch  my  hand — it  was  a  sunflower 
swayed  by  the  morning  breeze.  Yes,  there  beside  me  on 
that  rockv  trail,  subjected  to  all  the  vicissitudes  of 
climate,  that  sturdy  plant  was  growing,  with  every  pa- 
tient face  turned  toward  the  sun.  I  touched  the  plant 
caressingly,  "You  may  not  be  beautiful, "  I  said,  "but 
you  are  encouraging." 


74  SIFTED  THROUGH 

heard  you  singing  and  have  coine  to  see  what  I  can  do 
to  help  you,"  I  said  cheerily. 

''There  is  nothing  you  nor  anyone  else  can  do,"  she 
said  gloomily,  "as  the  tree  falls  so  it  must  lie." 

"Well,  I  have  never  yet  seen  a  fallen  tree  that  some 
one  could  not  move,"  I  said;  "tell  me  why  you  chose 
to  sing  that  particular  hymn,  *  Hark  from  the  tombs. '  J 

Her  face  grew  still  more  sad  as  she  said : 

"Because  my  parents  and  grandparents  used  to  sing 
it  when  I  was  a  child;  I  am  now  sitting  in  my  grand- 
mother's rocker,  and  everything  you  see  here  once  be- 
longed either  to  her  or  to  my  mother,"  and  she  heaved 
a  deep  sigh. 

She  was  such  a  pathetic  little  figure  that  I  was  filled 
with  compassion,  and  said  gently,  "Sister,  dear,  this 
seems  a  gloomy  place,  do  you  like  gloom?" 

"Oh,  no,  I  do  not  like  it,  but  there  is  no  help  for  it. 
You  see,  I  had  to  take  care  of  both  my  parents  and 
grandparents,  and  I  often  grew  tired  and  cross  and 
spoke  sharply  to  them.  I  even  wished  that  poor  old 
grandpa  would  die  and  I  watched  his  failing  strength 
with  satisfaction." 

Here  she  shuddered,  as  if  seeing  something,  snake- 
like  and  horrible,  coming  to  her,  turned  her  face  away 
and  continued,  "I  did  my  duty  by  him  so  far  as  good 
care  went,  but  I  never  gave  him  one  bit  of  love  to  cheer 
and  comfort  him,  not  one  kind  word,  and  I  was  cold 
and  indifferent  to  them  all. 

"Things  seem  so  different  to  me  now,  and,  0  God!  I 
can  never  be  happy  again!"  and  she  began  to  sob. 

The  spaniel  arose  and  gazed  at  her  mistress  with  soft, 
pleading  brown  eyes,  and  with  her  forefeet  tried  to  draw 
the  toil-worn  hands  from  the  weeping  eyes. 

I  pointed  to  the  dog  and  said,  "Sister,  if  you  were 
to  beat  and  starve  that  dog,  would  she  not  forgive  you  ? ' ' 

"0,  yes;  Bess  would  forgive  me  anything,"  and  she 
stroked  the  brown  head  fondly. 


A  RAINY  DAY  76 

' '  Then,  you  are  much  worse  than  the  dog,  for  you  are 
treating  someone  very  badly  and  without  forgiveness," 
I  said. 

She  looked  up  in  amazement.  "You  are  mistaken," 
she  said  decidedly,  "  there  is  not  a  soul  in  heaven,  earth 
or  hell,  that  I  have  not  fully  forgiven  everything. " 

"There  is  one  that  you  have  not  forgiven,"  I  said 
solemnly,  "and  that  one  is  yourself.  Do  you  ever 
pray?" 

"0,  yes;  I  have  asked  God  to  forgive  me  many  a 
time,  but" — she  paused,  and  I  went  on,  "but  you  do 
not  know  whether  He  has  or  not,  and  no  wonder !  For- 
give yourself  right  here  and  now,  and  then  you  will 
know  that  God  has  forgiven  you.  Prove  that  you  have 
forgiven  yourself  by  refusing  to  think  or  talk  about 
your  past  mistakes  and  weaknesses  any  more.  'I  will 
blot  them  out ;  I  will  remember  your  sins  no  more, '  saith 
the  Lord.  Be  God-like  yourself,  and  freedom  and  happi- 
ness are  yours,  for  I  who  know,  am  speaking  to  you." 

For  a  moment  we  stood  in  silence,  then  she  turned  a 
joyous  face  to  me — "1  have  done  it!  and  O,  I  see  now, 
you  are  an  angel  of  light.  0,  thank  God — tell  me  where 
shall  I  go?  What  shall  I  do?" 

I  led  her  out  thru  the  falling  rain  to  one  of  the  Sub- 
Missions  which,  as  we  came  in  sight  of  it,  was  spanned 
by  a  glorious  rainbow.  I  left  her  there,  and  the  spaniel 
was  with  her.  Another  soul  redeemed  from  sorrow  and 
darkness ! 

One  would  think  that  any  person  long  bound  by  a 
physical  condition,  when  freed  from  it,  would  rejoice 
and  make  the  most  of  freedom,  but  often  this  is  not  true. 
Human  nature  has  many  angles,  and  no  two  individuals 
are  affected  by  a  circumstance  in  exactly  the  same  way. 
Many  people  who  have  been  ill  or  crippled  for  a  long 
time  have  to  be  rescued  here,  and,  in  order  to  rescue 
them,  you  have  to  teach  them  to  stop  thinking  thoughts 
of  illness.  As  long  as  one  mentally  hugs  his  ailments, 
he  is  ailing.  A  person  may  become  ill,  when  he  is  not 


76  SIFTED  THROUGH 

thinking  illness,  but  one  who  constantly  thinks  illness 
will  not  be  really  well. 

The  modern  metaphysical  cults  have  done  an  immense 
amount  of  good — a  good  very  apparent  here — and,  while 
their  votaries  have  had  a  tendency  to  become  bigoted, 
arbitrary  and  lacking  in  compassion,  they  have  accom- 
plished much.  There  are  always  two  sides  to  everything, 
and  this  is  one  side ;  the  other  is  the  larger  side,  where 
selfishness  manipulates  the  forces. 

One  day,  while  I  was  out  to  meditate  and  enjoy  the 
wonderful  manifestations  of  Nature — the  garment  in 
which  Deity  clothes  Himself  for  manifestation — I  came 
across  a  woman  sitting  in  a  wheel-chair  making  tatting, 
I  think. 

"Why  the  wheel-chair,  Sister?"  I  said  cheerily. 

She  drew  her  face  down  a  degree  or  two  longer  than 
it  was,  and  it  was  long  enough  before,  and  in  a  doleful 
tone  said,  ' i  For  twenty-five  long  years  I  have  had  to  sit 
in  a  wheel-chair.  Both  my  feet  are  useless,  lady.  You 
cannot  know  such  sorrow  as  this!" 

"Sister,"  I  said,  "you  are  under  a  delusion.  The 
feet  of  your  physical  body  were  useless  to  you,  but  your 
physical  body  was  buried  several  years  ago.  Your  pres- 
ent feet  are  all  right.  Look  at  them  with  that  idea,  and 
you  will  see  that  they  are.  Push  that  useless  chair  into 
the  bushes  and  come,  run  a  race  with  me!" 

The  woman's  face  was  a  study  for  a  moment,  and  then, 
half  angrily,  she  said,  "What!  give  up  my  chair  and 
all  the  beautiful  things  the  ladies  bring  to  me !  the  books 
and  pictures  and  cards  and  flowers  and  candy!  and 
never  have  any  one  love  me  or  sympathize  with  me  any 
more?  No,  I  won't  do  it!" 

"Very  well,"  I  said,  "just  as  you  please,"  and  I 
turned  away,  but  that  Something  in  me,  always  watch- 
ing, turned  me  back,  and  I  said,  ' '  Do  you  love  music  ? ' ' 

Her  face  changed.  "0,  yes,"  she  said  eagerly,  "but  I 
have  heard  none  for  a  long  time !" 

"All  right,"  I  said,  "you  shall,  here  we  go!" 


A  RAINY  DAY  77 

It  was  concert  hour  at  the  great  Sub-Mission  station, 
where  I  specially  belong,  when  I  wheeled  the  invalid  in. 
They  were  singing  * '  Home,  Sweet  Home, ' '  and  no  matter 
how  beautiful  that  dear  old  hymn  may  have  sounded  to 
you,  you  can  have  no  conception  of  the  beauty  our 
singers  brought  out  of  it.  Then  they  sang  "Suwanee 
River,"  "The  Eden  of  Love"  and  "In  the  Christian's 
Home  in  Glory." 

By  this  time  my  patient  had  forgotten  her  ailments 
and  joined  in  this  last  hymn  lustily.  When  it  was  con- 
cluded, one  of  the  young  men  workers  came  along,  all 
smiles  and  politeness,  and  telling  her  they  were  going 
into  the  negro  quarters  of  Washington  to  do  some  rescue 
work,  he  pulled  her  hand  over  his  arm  and  away  they 
went. 

The  wheel-chair  was  not  called  for,  and,  therefore, 
is  no  more. 

The  greatest  cure  for  invalidism  in  all  the  world  is  to 
get  the  victim  thoroughly  interested  in  something  outside 
of  self  and  its  seeming  limitations.  I  have  seen  this  dem- 
onstrated over  and  over  again.  When  self  is  once  for- 
gotten, its  fetters  are  broken.  It  is  better,  In  His  Name, 
to  make  pink  dresses  for  negro  babies,  than  to  lie  and 
hug  a  hot  water  bottle,  and  tell  your  friends  how  awful 
is  the  pain.  E.  L. 


CHAPTER  XI 
TRUTH  AND  MY  CREED 

A.NY  people  talk  learnedly,  even  eloquently, 
about  truth,  but  when  they  are  confronted  by 
the  age-old  question,  "What  is  truth ?"  can 
give  no  definite  answer.  It  is  probable  that  ninety-nine 
out  of  a  hundred  answers  reduced  to  some  definite  state- 
ment would  read :  '  *  It  is  what  /  believe. ' ' 

To  change  one's  mind  is  in  harmony  with  Nature's 
law  of  growth.  No  one  can  grow  either  mentally  or  spir- 
itually without  a  change  of  mind.  You  know  spirit  com- 
munion to  be  a  fact,  but  your  ideas  regarding  it,  I  am 
sure,  have  so  deepened  and  expanded  that  they  now  bear 
small  resemblance  to  your  first  ideas  of  it.  This  is  what 
I  mean  by  growing  thru  changing  your  mind.  No  person 
can  attain  to  any  degree  of  understanding,  or  knowl- 
edge of  truth,  unless  he  is  willing  to  lay  aside  every  the- 
ory, doctrine  or  belief  he  has  ever  held  to  be  true. 

The  genuine  truth-seeker  is  like  a  drowning  man.  He 
will  catch  the  rope  thrown  to  him  without  questioning 
the  character  or  nationality  of  the  thrower.  Truth  is 
truth,  if  the  Devil  speaks  it ;  and  blessed  are  those  that 
know  this  fact.  The  average  person  does  not  want  truth 
unless  he  feels  sure  it  will  harmonize  with  that  which 
he  already  holds  as  truth.  There  are  a  dozen  people 
mentally  lazy,  where  there  is  one  physically  lazy.  This 
explains,  to  a  large  degree,  why  there  is  so  much  error 
in  the  world.  The  ideas  of  a  few  men,  who  centuries 
ago  dared  to  think,  now  rule  the  world.  These  same 
men  have  kept  on  thinking  since  the  world  pronounced 
them  dead,  and  those  who  blindly  jog  along  in  the  same 
78 


TRUTH  AND  MY  CREED  79 

old  ruts,  their  mental  wheels  once  cut,  will  hear  from 
them  again,  in  a  way  of  which  they  now  little  dream. 
The  man  who  now  speaks  truth  with  the  greatest  power 
is  the  man  who  once  earnestly  taught  error. 

While  I  was  in  my  physical  body  I  had  no  idea  I  was 
holding  any  error  to  speak  of.  I  knew  there  were  many 
passages  of  Scripture,  the  meaning  of  which  I  felt  very 
uncertain  about,  and  I  was  glad  to  think  that  some 
other  man  might  know  how  to  explain  them  aright ;  but 
that  there  could  be  any  interpretation  of  spiritual  truth 
outside  the  Christian  church  never  once  occurred  to  me ; 
but  when  the  truth  that  I  was  wrong,  broke  into  my  con- 
sciousness, I  was  filled  with  joy. 

"When  Spirit  sneaks,  each  hears  in  his  own  tongue  and 
manifests  according  to  his  own  stage  of  development. 
Truth  is  but  another  name  for  Divine  Love  and  Wisdom 
in  manifestation.  There  usually  is  a  wide  difference 
between  knowledge  and  belief.  Knowledge  is  soul- 
knowing  and  belief  is  head-knowing,  which  more  often 
is  error  than  truth.  Real  proof  of  any  truth  is  born 
within  the  individual.  Whoever  accepts  outward  proof 
of  truth,  has  accepted  the  shadow  instead  of  the  sub- 
stance, and  it  will  prove  unsatisfactory  some  time. 

0,  the  joy  that  came  to  me  when  I  knew  that  God  is 
a  loving  Father  to  all  His  children  and  lets  the  sunshine 
of  His  love  fall  upon  all  alike!  The  Father's  gifts  are 
offered  freely,  but  it  depends  upon  the  children  whether 
they  are  taken  or  not — also  upon  the  use  made  of  them 
when  they  are  taken.  Perfect  freedom  is  given  the  chil- 
dren. Love  is  a^-embracing  and  shuts  out  no  form  of 
life.  There  is  no  hope,  aspiration,  desire,  ambition  or 
effort  that  love  will  not  purify,  stimulate,  strengthen 
and  transform. 

It  is  the  Father's  will  that  every  one  of  His  children 
shall  reflect  the  Divine  image  perfectly,  but,  if  some 
of  the  children  choose  to  take  the  Hate  path  instead  of 
the  Love  path,  they  must  take  the  sorrow  and  suffering 
that  inevitably  result.  The  Father  has  sent  many  great 


80  SIFTED  THROUGH 

Teachers  to  point  the  Way  and  demonstrate  what  Love 
will  do,  but  if  the  children  love  darkness  better  than 
light,  there  is  plenty  of  it  for  them  to  stay  in  until, 
weary  of  it,  they  seek  the  Light.  It  is  not  the  Father's 
will  that  any  should  take  the  hard,  roundabout  way 
home. 

Material  substance  is  the  coarse  outer  garment  in 
which  God  clothes  Himself  for  manifestation.  The  finer 
astral  matter,  which  composes  my  present  body  and  the 
world  of  beings  and  things  I  am  now  dealing  with,  may 
be  likened  to  a  finer  inner  garment  in  and  thru  which 
God  manifests  here.  Mind  substance  is  a  still  finer 
garment  thru  which  God  manifests  upon  the  mental 
plane,  and  Spirit  is  a  still  finer  substance  by  means  of 
which  God  manifests  to  the  spiritual. 

Spirit  is  a  direct  manifestation  of  Deity,  but  is  not  the 
Manifestor.  When  God  wills  to  manifest  specially  for 
the  benefit  of  His  erring  children,  He  is  compelled  to 
assume  form,  for  outside  of  form  He  cannot  manifest  to 
those  bound  by  form. 

Within  the  last  few  years,  many  people  have  been 
making  great  account  of  the  physical  body,  devoting  the 
larger  part  of  their  waking  time  to  thinking  about  and 
caring  for  it.  In  every  possible  way  these  people  have 
tried  to  deify  the  body  and  live  in  it  long  years — per- 
haps forever.  This  is  the  reverse  swing  of  the  pendulum 
from  the  older  teaching,  that  the  body  is  essentially  vile 
and  not  to  be  considered  more  than  absolutely  necessary. 
One  teaching  is  as  pernicious  as  the  other,  for  the  truth 
lies,  as  it  always  does,  between  the  two  extremes. 

If  you  are  filled  with  the  love  of  God,  you  will  take 
good  care  of  your  body;  for  it  is  the  instrument  thru 
which  you  must  manifest,  and  as  you  are  clean  and  pnro 
you  will  keep  it  clean  and  pure.  God  gives  you  wisdom 
to  know  how  to  care  for  your  body,  if  you  will  only  be 
still  and  know ;  but  you  may  be  very  sure  that  the  Divine 
Wisdom  always  tends  to  self-control  and  strength  of 
character  and  never  to  fleshly  weakness  and  self  indul- 


TRUTH  AND  MY  CREED  81 

gence.  Overfeeding  or  eating  merely  because  a  thing 
tastes  good  is  a  pernicious  form  of  self-indulgence;  but 
to  let  the  ambitions  of  the  personal  self,  or  habit-mind, 
lead  you  into  overworking  the  body  is  an  equally  per- 
nicious form  of  self-indulgence. 

There  is  no  such  thing  as  an  untimely  death.  No 
person  can  leave  his  physical  body  until  he  has  utilized 
all  the  forces  he  is  capable  of  utilizing,  to  the  accomplish- 
ment of  that  for  which  he  came  into  expression.  Have 
faith  in  God  and  save  yourself  the  doubt  and  grief  and 
the  darkness  of  rebellion. 

Dear  writer,  this  is  your  strong  thought:  "Out  of 
your  old  beliefs  what  do  you  now  retain  as  Truth  ? ' '  All 
of  it.  You  once  gave  birth  to  a  son,  but  the  babe  that 
was  laid  in  your  arms  the  first  time,  bore  no  resemblance 
to  your  son  today,  yet  he  is  still  your  son.  No  matter 
what  he  may  say  or  do,  or  fail  to  say  or  do,  the  fact  that 
he  is  still  your  son  remains.  You  have  been  conscious 
of  the  sun  in  the  heavens  for  many  years,  but  your  idea 
of  the  sun  is  very  different  from  your  childish  idea.  T 
was  growing  spiritually  while  I  was  in  my  physical 
body.  Those  who  knew  me  will  tell  you  that  my  con- 
sciousness was  an  expanding  one,  and  I  grew  until  I 
could  grow  no  more  in  the  conditions  under  which  I  was. 

So-called  psychic  phenomena  came  into  my  private 
life,  and  I  was  utterly  unable  to  comprehend  its  sig- 
nificance ;  so  God  in  His  infinite  mercv  broke  my  fetters 
and  set  me  free  upon  a  plane  of  being  where  I  could 
understand.  No  one  who  really  knows  what  Faith  is, 
will  try  to  change  the  old  translation,  reading,  "Faith 
is  the  substance  of  things  hoped  for,  the  evidence  of 
things  not  seen."  (For  once  the  King  James  translation 
is  the  best.)  When  you  really  know  the  meaning  of 
those  words,  "all  power"  is  yours. 

I  believe  that  God,  for  the  benefit  of  us,  His  little 
children,  individualized  into  Being.  Divinity  involved 
in  this  solar  system  is  one  with  the  Absolute,  and  is 
Being  beyond  our  comprehension.  Deity  involved  in 


82  SIFTED  THROUGH 

this  world  is,  as  Being,  beyond  the  comprehension  of  the 
intellect;  but  spiritual  mind  perceives  Him,  the  lovin<? 
Father,  as  Beinsr,  one  with  everv  Bein^  and  one  with 
the  Absolute.  As  the  sun  has  manv  rays,  so  the  Abso- 
lute pours  Himself  out  in  many  states  of  Being. 

God  is  life,  light,  power,  intelligence,  principle,  spirit 
— all  that  and  more.  To  us  He  is  indeed  and  in  truth 
a  loving  Father,  and  to  know  Him  is  to  trust  Him,  and, 
to  trust  Him  fullv,  is  to  have  peace  and  joy  under  all 
circumstances.  He  withholds  from  us  no  good  thing. 
When  we  get  to  the  place  where  a  thing  is  good  for  us, 
He  gives  it  to  us.  Commit  your  way  unto  Him  and 
wait  patiently  for  Him  and  He  will  bring  it  to  pass. 
When  you  get  impatient  and  try  to  force  results  you  ffet 
yourself  entangled  in  -the  web  of  the  Law,  and  disaster 
in  some  form  overtakes  you — but  never  blame  anyone 
but  yourself. 

Yes,  I  believe  in  God — or  rather,  I  "know  in  God — 
but  my  conception  of  Him  is  very  different  than  it  was 
once,  and  whatever  your  conception  of  God  may  be, 
have  faith  in  Him  and  you  will  be  a  victorious  soul. 
To  help  us  on  our  way  God  has,  at  various  times, 
spoken  more  fully  thru  and  in,  some  of  His  children 
than  the  other  children  were  capable  of  understanding 
at  that  time. 

At  last  He  sent  His  Son,  a  special  manifestation  of 
Himself,  Christ,  in  and  thru  Whom  salvation  comes. 

Salvation  from  what?  Everything  from  which  man 
could  want  to  be  saved.  I  believe  in  Christ  the  Son  of 
God,  in  you  the  hope  of  glory,  illumination,  salvation. 
I  believe  in  Jesus  of  Nazareth  who  freely  gave  His  life 
to  the  world  and  will  continue  to  do  so,  until  the  earth 
and  all  in  it  becomes  as  perfect  as  God's  idea  of  per- 
fection. 

I  believe  in  Heaven,  not  a  far  off  place,  but  an  inner 
consciousness  which  all  must  some  time  attain.  I  also 
believe  in  a  literal  Heaven;  for  this  earth  must  express 
in  the  outer  what  all  her  children  realize  within.  There 


TRUTH  AND  MY  CREED  83 

may  be  in  some  far  away  solar  system,  a  realm  of  bliss 
awaiting  us  when  we  are  thru  with  this  world;  but  we 
may  be  very  sure  we  shall  not  be  thru  with  this  world 
until  we  become  as  perfect  as  our  Heavenly  Father  is 
perfect,  and  the  earth  and  all  there  is  in  it  has  become 
as  perfect  as  perfect  beings  shall  require. 

I  believe  in  angels,  guardian  and  ministering  spirits, 
God's  messengers  expressing  the  Divine  love  within 
themselves.  Some  angels  wear  flesh  and  blood  and  some 
do  not,  but  all  have  come  along  the  one  hard,  thorny 
pathway  into  that  Love  which  forgets  self  and  its  limita- 
tions. 

I  believe  in  prayer,  not  the  sort  of  prayer  the  minister 
"  makes "  when  he  prays  for  the  congregation  to  hear 
him,  for  that  is  mere  words  which  furnish  nothing  to 
believe  in,  but  in  prayer  which  is  the  souPs  intense 
desire,  which  pours  itself  out  in  supplication  or  the 
spoken  word.  Prayer  is  the  urge  of  the  real  self  voicing 
itself  in  language,  the  Spirit,  knowing  your  needs,  claim- 
ing for  you  your  own. 

Praj-er  has  a  scientific  basis  as  well  as  a  religious  one. 
Prayer  is  the  connecting  link  between  your  need  and  the 
Source  of  Supply.  Not  until  Christ — Divine  Love — rules 
supreme  within  you,  can  you  know  how  to  pray  and  what 
to  pray  for.  Let  the  Spirit  make  intercession  for  you 
with  earnest  desires  which  cannot  be  expressed  in  words. 
Yes,  pray !  There  is  an  omnipresent,  omnipotent  Power 
to  pray  to,  and  He  hears  you  even  before  your  desire 
finds  expression  in  words ;  and,  altho  you  may  not  com- 
prehend His  state  of  Being,  He  is  your  loving  Father, 
pray !  He  heals  the  sick,  gives  food  to  the  hungry,  opens 
the  prison  doors,  gives  sight  to  the  blind,  supplies  all 
your  needs,  and  fails  no  one  that  trusts  in  Him. 

I  believe  in  the  "Word  of  God,  which  not  only  flashes 
from  the  pages  of  every  bible  scroll,  but  is  thundering 
mightily  in  the  world  today  and  will  continue  to  do  so 
until  the  end  of  time.  Yes;  I  believe  in  the  Word  of 
God  which  was  spoken  by  the  prophets  and  teachers  of 


84  SIFTED  THROUGH 

old,  and  which  is  being  spoken  more  clearly  and  mightily 
thru  the  mouths  of  consecrated  men  and  women  in  the 
world  today.  Never  since  the  world  began. has  there 
been  such  inspiration  and  revelation  as  is  manifesting 
today.  Make  yourself  a  fit  and  willing  instrument  and 
in  His  own  way  God  will  gladly  use  you,  of  that  have 
no  doubt. 

I  believe  in  hell;  for  I  know  it  exists.  It  is  a  man- 
made  hell;  for  it  could  not  be  otherwise.  People  in 
flesh  and  blood  often  live  in  hell  a  life-time,  and  people 
not  in  flesh  and  blood  may  do  the  same.  The  vilest 
hell  is  made  by  those  who  live  only  to  gratify  their  lower 
nature,  and  the  deepest,  blackest  hell  is  the  loveless  one. 

Yes ;  I  know  there  is  a  hell,  both  on  your  side  and  my 
side  of  life;  but  if  there  is  any  profanity  any  greater 
than  to  accuse  God  of  making  a  hell  and  keeping  His 
children  in  it  for  all  eternity,  I  do  not  know  what  it  can 
be.  The  fires  of  hell  are  burning  fiercely  today,  because 
of  the  hatred  loosed  in  the  world.  "Vengeance  is  mine, 
I  will  repay, "  says  the  changeless  Law,  and  all  that 
take  the  sword  to  mete  out  vindictive  punishment,  shall 
by  the  same  sword  be  slain. 

I  believe  in  the  resurrection  of  the  dead.  The  physical 
body  is  laid  off — "goes  down" — and  the  astral  body 
arises.  The  astral  body  goes  down  and  the  mental  body 
arises.  The  mental  body  goes  down  and  the  spiritual 
body  arises — the  body  not  made  with  hands,  eternal  in 
the  heavens — as  our  brother  Paul  has  stated — the  body 
which  man  has  not  made  for  himself,  but  to  which  he 
attains  by  growing  into  the  Christ-likeness. 

I  believe  this  present  time  is  the  Day  of  Judgment — 
or  Adjustment — in  which  every  man's  works  will  be 
tried  by  fire;  and  whatever  can  be  burned,  will  be 
burned.  The  earth  will  soon  disclose  her  dead — her 
shams,  falsehoods,  injustices,  vileness  and  corruption  in 
high  places.  Ill-gotten  gains,  the  fruit  of  oppression, 
will  no  longer  cover  the  traitor  and  the  laurel  wreath 
no  longer  crown  the  brow  which  should  bow  in  shame. 


TRUTH  AND  MY  CREED  85 

The  tares  shall  be  separated  from  the  wheat  and  be 
burned  ere  the  sunlight  of  the  New  Day  dawns.  Yes, 
I  believe  in  a  Day  of  Judgment,  here  and  now. 

I  believe  that  the  Great  Teachers  of  earth  are  soon 
to  return,  and  their  disciples  of  old  will  return  or  are 
already  here.  God  calls  for  men  and  women  strong  in 
courage,  faith  and  love. 

Who  will  answer  to  the  call?  C.  C. 


CHAPTER  XII 
THE  MOON  AND  THE  BUDDHA  TREE 

PKELUDE 

0  NOT  expect  me  to  be  humorous.  I  am  not 
wretched  enough.  A  man  wants  to  be  out  of  fix 
with  himself  and  everyone  else,  in  order  to  be 
really  humorous.  To  train  mental  disquietude  into  the 
humor  channel  is  one  of  life *s  victories. 

The  man  who  laughs,  if  he  laughs  at  the  right  thing 
at  the  right  time,  is  a  world  benefactor.  The  man  who 
makes  other  men  laugh  is  a  greater  one,  sometimes. 

All  truth  is  paradoxical ;  it  is  and  it  is  not.  Each  day, 
each  individual  has  to  choose  whether  he  will  have  the 
is,  or  is  not,  side  of  it.  The  great  secret  of  secrets  is  to 
get  at  that  angle  where  you  see  both  sides  of  it,  then  you 
know  what  you  once  questioned. 

There  are  two  classes  of  miserable  men  in  the  world ; 
one  class  is  humorous  and  the  other  isn't.  One  class 
wants  every  one  that  he  meets,  especially  the  women  of 
his  household  (no  others)  to  share  his  wretchedness  with 
him  (he  is  usually  very  proficient  in  bringing  this  to 
pass),  and  the  other  class  tries  to  hide  his  mental  unrest 
behind  a  veil  of  humor;  in  other  words,  he  gets  other 
people  to  do  his  laughing  for  him.  In  this  way,  he  wins 
a  reputation  for  being  a  jolly  fellow,  a  reputation  he 
has  not  earned,  a  semi-capitalistic  method  of  getting 
what  he  has  not  earned,  a  method  soon  to  meet  its  final 
Waterloo. 

No ;  I  am  not  sufficiently  miserable  to  be  funny,  so  you 
will  please  remove  that  string  from  my  personality.  I 

86 


THE  MOON  AND  THE  BUDDHA  TREE  87 

am  now  posing  as  a  habit  breaker,  and  you  will  please 
respect  my  pose.    I  am  now  ready  to  say  something. 

THE  MOON 

There  is  life  on  the  moon — lots  of  it — thin,  crawling, 
stupid  life  (this  is  one  side  of  it),  changing  in  form  and 
habits  of  growth,  and  adapting  itself  to  radical  outer 
changes,  according  to  conditions. 

This  life  does  not  manifest  upon  the  mountain  tops 
where  prying  telescopic  eyes  can  search  for  it;  neither 
is  it  outlined  against  the  chalky  whiteness  of  the  moun- 
tainsides. There  is  all  sorts  of  life  manifesting  in  a  dead 
thing,  why  should  a  dead  world  be  an  exception? 

There  are  cracks  in  the  moon,  plenty  of  them,  shallow 
cracks,  deep  cracks ;  and  the  deeper  the  cracks,  the  more 
crawly  the  forms  of  life  existing  therein.  Some  men  are 
beginning  to  learn  what  life  is,  and  what  death  is.  Eter- 
nity is  said  to  be  long,  so  there  is  hope  for  all. 

Man  should  have  learned  long  ago,  that  the  ability  to 
sense  is  something  separate  from  the  organs  of  sense. 
There  are  beings  all  around  you,  and  objects  about  you, 
which  even  your  clairvoyant  sight  cannot  see.  You  have 
not  yet  learned  to  see  one-half  the  things  your  physical 
eyes  are  capable  of  seeing.  There  are  worlds  within 
worlds,  and  worlds  outside  of  worlds,  and  man  has  not 
learned  to  know  one  of  them  yet.  Man  does  not  know 
how  to  see,  hear,  taste,  smell  or  feel,  as  he  might,  and 
must  some  day.  If  he  had  spent  as  much  time  in  culti- 
vating his  senses  as  he  has  in  devising  ways  to  pervert 
and  abuse  them,  he  would  not  be  where  he  is  today. 

In  a  very  old  book,  you  are  told  to  * '  gird  up  the  loins 
of  your  mind,"  why  do  you  not  preach  a  short  sermon 
from  that  text?  If  you  preach  ten  minutes,  they  will 
listen  to  you,  if  longer  than  that,  they  will  begin  to 
wonder  whether  they  left  the  cat  inside  or  outside  the 
kitchen  door  when  they  left  home. 

The  moon  shines  with  reflected  light,  hence  the  cracks. 
If  it,  like  the  sun,  shone  with  inner,  "in  itself,"  light, 
there  would  be  no  cracks.  Human  beings  are,  as  a  whole, 


88  SIFTED  THROUGH 

like  the  moon ;  they  all  reflect  light  when  they  are  turned 
toward  the  light,  but  when  they  are  turned  away  from 
it,  they  are  too  dark  to  be  seen. 

Those  that  shine  with  inner  light  cannot  be  hidden; 
they  are  dependable,  but  never  dependent;  for  they 
carry  the  light  within  themselves,  and  all  can  have  the 
benefit  of  it;  but  no  one  can  rob  them  of  nor  dimmish 
the  light ;  neither  does  turning  about  increase  nor  dimin- 
ish it.  Such  a  person  has  no  cracks  in  his  mentality,  in 
which  hideous,  ugly  creeping  things  can  manifest. 

Man,  at  a  certain  stage  of  growth,  like  the  moon,  to 
the  telescopic  eye,  presents  the  craters  of  extinct  volca- 
noes, extinct  because  the  force  which  produced  them 
has  spent  itself  and  no  longer  exists.  After  the  fires 
of  appetite  and  passion  have  exhausted  themselves,  down 
deep  in  the  deepest  crack  which  they  have  left,  self  still 
manifests  in  hideous,  insidious,  crawling  forms.  As 
there  is  a  certain  persistence  manifesting  in  the  moon- 
crack  creatures,  so  in  the  deepest  furrow  of  every  men- 
tality, self-life  is  rooted  tenaciously.  Truth  alone  can 
uproot  self.  When  self  dies,  fear  dies  with  it.  With 
fear,  also  dies  grief,  jealousy,  anxiety,  greed,  pride, 
prejudice  and  a  host  of  lesser  evils. 

Man  is  unlike  the  moon  in  this  respect :  the  moon  has 
no  power  to  shine  with  an  inner  light,  and  man  has, 
when  he  kicks  off  his  swathing  bands  and  awakes  to 
consciousness;  but  both  man  and  moon  appear  broken 
and  imperfect  in  form,  except  when  in  the  full  light  of 
the  One  Light. 

You  have  heard  much  about  Astral,  that  is,  starry 
beings ;  now  you  have  heard  of  moony  beings. 
THE  BUDDHA  TREE 

One  day  while  walking  down  the  street,  No-Where-In- 
Particular,  I  overtook  a  stranger  and,  feeling  lonely,  I 
asked  permission  to  keep  him  company.  "Certainly," 
he  said  gravely.  ' '  I  have  been  expecting  you.  My  name 
is  Hadan." 

I  was  so  surprised,   I  forgot  to  introduce  myself. 


THE  MOON  AND  THE  BUDDHA  TREE  89 

"How  long  have  you  been  in  this  country !"  I  asked. 

11  About  fifteen  years,  I  think. " 

Hadan's  manner  was  gentle  and  well-bred;  but,  as 
he  seemed  to  expect  me  to  lead  in  the  conversation,  I 
persisted.  1 1  What  sort  of  a  country  is  it — as  a  whole  ?  ' ' 

"Any  sort  of  a  country  you  have  the  mind  to  make 
it,  I  should  say/' 

"Oh!  I  see!"  I  said  slowly,  "you  must  be  a  Christian 
Scientist,  I  think." 

"There  are  no  Christian  Scientists  here." 

"What!"  I  ejaculated,  "this  cannot  be  Heaven!" 

* '  That  depends  largely  upon  yourself, ' '  he  said  gently, 
1 '  how  would  you  like  to  sit  for  awhile  under  the  Buddha 
Tree?" 

Something  in  the  stranger's  words,  struck  me  oddly. 
I  had  a  dim  recollection  of  something  remote,  something 
too  foreign  to  be  desirable.  I  did  not  wish  to  give 
offence,  but  I  hesitated. 

A  peculiar  look  passed  over  Hadan's  face.  "You  have 
altogether  too  good  an  opinion  of  yourself,  I  see,  but 
you  will  get  over  it,"  he  added  encouragingly. 

Just  as  I  was  wondering  if  our  relations  were  becom- 
ing strained,  we  entered  a  bank  of  gray  fog,  from  the 
center  of  which  came  the  voice  of  a  man  crying  hoarsely, 
"Who  am  I,  for  God's  sake  who  am  I?" 

A  tall,  thin  man,  with  a  weak  chin  and  mouth,  and 
half  vacant  eyes,  stared  at  us. 

"Sakes  alive,  man!"  I  said,  "don't  you  know  who 
you  are?"  He  shook  his  head  weakly. 

A  bright  idea  struck  me  (I  have  occasionally  had  one), 
and  I  said,"  If  you  do  not  know  who  you  are,  perhaps 
you  can  tell  me  what  you  are." 

"0,  yes,"  he  said  proudly,  "I  am  the  greatest  psychic 
in  all  this  country,  the  most  famous  medium  in  the 
world.  I  have  eight  guides,  all  of  them  famous  in  the 
world's  history.  I  can  heal  every  disease  known,  find 
hidden  treasures,  locate  mines  and  wells  of  water,  fore- 
tell future  events,  read  the  records  of  the  past " 


90  SIFTED  THROUGH 

"Hold  on,  sir!"  I  said,  "just  call  up  one  of  these 
famous  guides  and  I  will  ask  him  to  tell  me  who  you 
are." 

The  man  stared  at  me  a  moment,  and  then  said  haught- 
ily (he  must  have  been  very  cold,  for  he  shivered  vio- 
lently), "I  perceive,  sir,  that  you  are  an  unbeliever; 
therefore,  you  do  not  furnish  right  conditions.  I  am 
extremely  sensitive  to  people's  vibrations,  so  I  will  bid 
you  good-day." 

Hadan  touched  me  on  the  shoulder.  "Come  away," 
he  said,  "the  man  will  learn  something  worth  while 
some  day." 

1 '  Is  the  man  crazy  ? "  I  asked. 

"That  depends  upon  your  interpretation  of  the  word 
crazy.  He  is  certainly  not  in  his  right  mind;  for  a 
right  mind  cultivates  itself,  develops  itself  to  the  utter- 
most, relies  upon  its  own  powers,  shuns  notoriety  and 
prefers  to  do  a  little,  well,  rather  than  a  great  deal, 
half  way.  There  is  little  credit  to  one  who  permits  his 
faculties  to  be  used  by  another,  to  the  exclusion  or 
dwarfing  of  his  own." 

"Do  you  mind  telling  me  what  your  religion  is?"  J 
asked  timidly. 

"To  treat  everyone  as  if  he  were  myself,"  was  the 
terse  reply. 

At  this  moment  we  came  to  a  steep  and  very  rocky 
hill,  with  a  foot-path  winding  in  and  out  through  tangled 
briars  and  Canada  thistles,  until  it  was  lost  to  view. 
Upon  a  rock  at  the  foot  of  the  hill  sat  an  elderly  woman. 
The  sun  was  pouring  its  heat  full  upon  her,  but  she 
did  not  heed;  her  square-cut  jaw  was  set  and  her  thin 
straight  lips  were  tightly  closed.  She  was  the  personifi- 
cation of  grim  resolve.  Occasionally  she  spoke.  The 
words  were  literally  hurled  forth,  and,  listening,  I  heard, 
' '  There  is  no  pain !  there  is  no  heat !  there  are  no  briars, 
no  thistles,  no  rocks ! ' ' 

"Pardon  me,  madam,"  I  interrupted,  "but  if  these 
things  have  no  existence,  why  are  you  thinking  about 


THE  MOON  AND  THE  BUDDHA  TREE  91 

them?  Why  waste  time  and  strength  in  denying  the 
existence  of  that  which  does  not  exist!" 

The  woman  opened  her  eyes  and  gazed  frigidly  at  me, 
"Sir,  you  have  broken  in  upon  my  concentration,"  she 
said ;  ' '  please  depart, ' '  We  departed. 

For  some  time  neither  of  us  spoke;  then  I  said,  "It 
seems  to  me,  that  woman  is  trying  to  drive  up  that  hill 
with  her  horse  behind  her  cart." 

"How  so?"  asked  Hadan. 

"Well,  it  seems  to  me,  that  instead  of  denying  the 
heat,  I  would  get  out  of  it,  or  else  assert  my  ability 
to  overcome  the  unpleasantness  of  too  much  of  it.  If  I 
whack  my  shins  against  a  rock,  instead  of  denying  the 
existence  of  the  pain  and  the  rock,  is  it  not  far  better 
to  pass  the  incident  as  a  mere  trifle,  too  unimportant 
to  detain  me  in  accomplishing  my  journey?  If,  for 
some  reason,  it  should  detain  me,  then  I  would  know 
that  it  was  for  a  wise  purpose  and  accept  it  thankfully." 

Hadan  looked  at  me  sharply,  "You  would  not  have 
thought  of  this,  if  you  had  not  met  the  woman,"  he 
said.  "Is  there  any  one  you  would  specially  care  to 
meet?" 

"Is  there  any  such  thing  as  an  angel?" 

"Certainly  there  is." 

"Then  I  want  to  see  one." 

"Very  well,  you  shall,  by  and  by." 

Just  then  I  glanced  at  the  ground  and  saw  the  leaves 
and  branches  of  a  tree  outlined  in  light,  instead  of 
shadow.  I  looked  up  in  amazement.  "Where  am  I?" 
I  asked. 

Hadan  smiled.  "Under  the  Buddha  Tree,"  he  said. 

8.  C. 


CHAPTER  XIII 
I  FIND  THE  ANGELS 

TIN  peddler  came  to  my  home  one  day  when  I 
was  a  small  boy,"  said  Uncle  Jake,  "and  the 
arrival  of  a  tin  peddler  was  an  event.  It  broke 
the  monotony  of  things,  and  gave  the  women  folks  some- 
thing new  to  talk  about.  This  particular  day  it  gave 
me  something  new  to  cry  about.  I  wanted  a  jack  knife, 
my  mother  wanted  a  milk  strainer,  and  there  were  not 
rags  enough  to  go  around,  so  to  speak,  and  the  jack  knife 
proposition  fell  through. 

The  peddler  was  a  lank,  solemn-looking  fellow,  with 
a  twinkle  in  one  corner  of  one  eye,  and  he  said  to  me 
confidentially,  while  he  was  watering  the  horse,  'Now, 
look  here,  Bub;  it  don't  do  a  mite  of  good  to  cry  about 
anything ;  just  save  your  time  and  strength  for  thinking 
some  way  out  of  your  trouble.  Troubles  are  like  pigs; 
the  more  you  feed  them  by  thinking  about  them,  the 
faster  they  grow;  and  they  soon  will  make  hogs  of 
themselves  and  fill  the  whole  trough  and  swaggle  every- 
thing you  put  in  it ;  so  don 't  feed  them.  Stop  thinking 
that  kind  of  thoughts  and  they'll  not  bother  you  any 
more. ' 

"  'How  are  you  going  to  see  any  way  out  of  a  thing 
when  there  ain't  any?'  said  I. 

"  'There  never  was  any  way  ever  invented  yet  that 
hasn't  had  two  ends  to  it,'  says  he,  'and  lots  of  stopping 
places  along  it.  Now,  let  me  tell  you  something  worth 
knowing,  Bub ;  if  you  want  a  thing  real  bad,  go  to  work 
and  make  it,  if  possible,  but  if  you  can't  make  it,  buy 
it;  if  you  can't  buy  it,  then  know  that  you  either  don't 

92 


I  FIND  THE  ANGELS  93 

need  it  and  are  better  off  without  it,  or  else  it  will  come 
to  you  in  some  way  or  other,  seven  chances  to  ten.  But, 
if  you  keep  your  head  level  and  your  eyes  peeled,  you 
will  find  a  jack  knife  within  a  month/  and,  sure  enough 
I  did,  lying  in  the  road  just  as  plain  as  could  be,  and  a 
three-blader,  too." 

Now,  this  story  which  Uncle  Jake  told  me  has  been  a 
sort  of  foundation  plank  in  my  philosophy  all  through 
my  earth-life;  and,  when  you  leave  the  coarser  for  the 
finer,  you  take  the  foundation  planks  along  with  you, 
and  they  come  mighty  handy  right  here. 

Perhaps  you  cannot  see  what  all  this  has  to  do  with 
angels;  but  I  do.  I  never  took  so  much  stock  in  the 
sweet  bye  and  bye  business  as  some  folks  do;  so,  after 
I  had  waited  a  reasonable  length  of  time  (as  it  seemed 
to  me),  for  Hadan  to  appear  and  escort  me  to  Angel 
Town,  and  he  did  not  manifest,  I  began  to  think  of 
some  way  to  bring  my  desire  to  pass,  my  own  self.  Some 
one  with  more  knowledge  of  religion  than  of  politics 
said :  " There  is  no  Savior  in  all  the  world  but  Truth." 

If  I  had  known  one  certain  truth,  I  would  have  been 
saved  a  lot  of  trouble.  The  tin  peddler's  philosophy,  like 
all  other  philosophies,  had  a  weak  spot  in  it.  A  philoso- 
phy is  like  a  tin  pan  with  a  hole  in  it,  worthless  until 
mended.  The  tin  peddler  should  have  said,  if  you  cannot 
make  the  thing  you  want,  learn  how  to  make  it,  if  pos- 
sible. 

We  are  told  that  all  things  are  possible  with  God; 
also,  that  God  is  everywhere.  Allowing  all  this  to  be 
true,  it  follows  naturally  that  each  individual  can  make 
an  " angel,"  one,  only  one,  but  one  is  enough! 

There  are  always  two  points  of  view,  the  real  and  the 
unreal.  If  the  tin  peddler's  philosophy  had  not  been 
leaky,  I  would  have  missed  all  the  experience  that  came 
between  me  and  the  knowledge  I  wanted.  I  did  not 
know  how  an  angel  looked  nor  where  to  look  for  one ;  but 
I  started  with  determination  written  all  over  me.  I  had 
seen  pictures  of  angels  all  my  life,  and  the  men  who 


94  SIFTED  THROUGH 

made  those  angels  were  as  ignorant  as  myself,  as  after 
events  proved. 

I  had  never  "wanted  to  be  an  angel  and  with  the 
angels  stand/*  If  there  was  any  one  thing  more  than 
another  that  I  was  afraid  of,  it  was  being  an  angel— 
and  no  wonder — who  wants  to  be  a  monstrosity  anyway  ? 

The  only  way  to  do  a  thing  is  to  do  it,  so  I  began 
the  first  step.  I  did  not  take  even  one  squint  at  the 
stars,  or  look  to  see  whether  the  wind  or  the  moon  was 
in  the  right  quarter,  I  just  started.  I  had  not  traveled 
far  until  I  came  across  a  man  sitting  under  a  bush.  He 
was  the  man  who  had  the  eight  famous  guides. 

" Hello, "  said  I,  "have  you  been  introduced  to  your- 
self yet  ?" 

"Go  away,"  he  said  imploringly,  "for  Heaven's  sake 
don't  look  at  me!  I  am  a  fool,  too  big  a  fool  to  live!  a 
fool,  I  tell  yon!" 

There  was  such  a  ring  of  anguish  in  the  man's  voice 
that  I  was  stirred  with  pity.  "0,  cheer  up,"  I  said, 
"don't  take  it  so  much  to  heart;  you  are  only  one  fool 
among  countless  millions  of  them.  It  is  not  what  you 
have  been,  but  what  you  are  at  each  particular  minute 
that  will  count  through  the  ages  to  come ;  it  isn  't  what 
you  believe  but  what  you  do  that  counts  anyway;  get 
busy  and  help  somebody  to  be  happy,  and  he  will  not 
ask  you  any  embarrassing  questions,  if  you  quit  when 
the  right  time  comes.  Be  a  man  now,  no  matter  what 
you  have  been." 

"All  right,  I  will!" 

What  is  it  we  read  about  being  l  i  changed  in  a  moment, 
in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye?"  I  am  thinking  there  is  a 
whole  lot  in  those  words  after  all,  for  something  in  that 
man,  and  something  in  me,  changed  very  suddenly. 

The  same  Law  which  draws  the  waters  from  the  dis- 
tant mountain  tops  through  valleys,  ravines,  plains  and 
rocky  beds  into  the  wave-tossed  sea,  draws  man  into  the 
sea  of  experience;  the  sort  of  experience  he  needs  at 


I  FIND  THE  ANGELS  95 

that  particular  time,  draws  him  individually,  draws  him 
collectively. 

"Wandering  on  unheedingly,  wrapped  in  deep  thought, 
I  suddenly  heard  the  shouts  of  revelers,  the  maudlin 
laughter  that,  once  heard,  is  ever  after  associated  with 
drunkenness.  I  entered  a  magnificent  home,  and  made 
my  way  to  the  great  banqueting  room,  where  a  score 
or  more  of  male  and  female  people  were  engaged  in 
debauchery.  Costly  pictures  and  statuary,  rich  draper- 
ies and  rugs  had  impressed  my  consciousness  as  I  en- 
tered the  house,  and  here  the  lights  shone  upon  costly 
glass  that  gleamed  and  glowed  and  sparkled ;  upon  bur- 
nished silver  and  gold  and  diamonds  and  pearls,  repre- 
senting many  a  fortune.  Soft  white  hands  which  never 
had  known  honest  labor  flashed  with  jewels ;  silken  robes, 
representing  the  broken  hearts  and  ruined  lives  of 
countless  numbers,  partly  concealed  the  well  rounded 
arms  and  bodies  of  the  females  gathered  there. 

I  saw  with  eyes  that  saw,  and  I  groaned  in  the  agony 
of  my  understanding.  Here  were  people  who  knew  not 
the  meaning  of  the  words,  work  and  responsibility, 
squandering  tens  of  thousands  of  dollars,  of  which  they 
had  never  earned  a  penny,  while  without,  a  great  army 
of  tortured  mothers  strove  in  vain  to  hush  the  waitings 
of  their  starving  babes. 

I  rushed  from  the  house.  I  went  out  to  try  and  thinV 
I  had  seen  rich  people.  There  was  nothing  new  to  me 
in  wealth,  as  the  world  sees  it,  nor  in  the  things  wealth 
will  buy,  that  is  not  the  point;  the  point  is,  that  I  saw 
that  there  is  no  real  wealth  in  wealth,  absolutely  none. 
These  people,  in  their  costly  robes  and  jewels,  costly 
indeed,  were  poorer  than  any  church  mice  ever  un- 
churched. 

Some  one  has  said,  " Money  is  power, "  and  millions 
of  fools  have  believed  it.  Money  is  power  only  when  it 
comes  to  obtaining  material  things,  the  things  that  per- 
ish, the  things  we  sell  our  souls  for,  the  things  for  which 
we  barter  all  our  joy  and  peace. 


96  SIFTED  THROUGH 

The  people  who  have  wealth  think  they  have  every- 
thing, until  they  try  to  buy  health,  love  and  friendship, 
the  real  and  not  sham,  and  then,  we  all  Jmow  what 
happens,  or,  we  should  know. 

Then  there  are  the  poor,  who  fondly  imagine  that,  if 
they  had  this  unearned  wealth,  they  could  have  every- 
thing, and  so  make  a  bigger  hell  for  themselves,  trying 
to  get  more  fuel  to  feed  the  flames  that  are  smoldering. 

Yes ;  I  went  out  to  try  and  comprehend  my  new  revela- 
tion of  old  conditions,  for  those  who  earnestly  desire 
knowledge  sometimes  pull  down  onto  themselves  more 
than  they  can  handle  at  one  time,  and  a  new  point  of 
view  is  often  tremendously  upsetting. 

Almost  immediately,  I  found  myself  in  a  dimly- 
lighted,  filthy  street,  with  tall,  dingy  tenement  houses 
on  every  hand.  Blear-eyed  male  creatures,  with  coarse 
features  and  bloated  faces,  gave  expression  to  passions 
more  loathsome  than  any  beast  ever  demonstrated;  fe- 
male creatures  with  disheveled  hair  and  filthy,  tattered 
garments,  partially  concealing  their  nakedness,  fought 
together  in  bare  and  filthy  rooms,  where  frightened  chil- 
dren huddled  in  the  shadows  or  wailed  piteously  from 
heaps  of  straw.  I  stood — for  how  long?  and  gazed 
around  me ;  and  again  I  turned  and  fled. 

After  a  time,  I  became  conscious  that  I  was  alone 
under  the  starry  heavens.  The  sound  of  water  rippli^  r 
gurgling,  babbling  along  its  way  made  heavenly  melody 
in  my  tortured  ears,  and  tall  trees  threw  shadows  de(  ; 
and  black  across  my  pathway.  I  hurled  myself  upon  a 
mossy  rock  and  the  sweet  odor  of  ferns  and  wild  roses 
came  restfully  to  me. 

Like  many  another  mortal,  I  had  gone  out  searching 
for  angels  and  found  devils;  and  like  many  another 
man  I  had  to  learn  several  truths.  I  was  aroused  by  a 
light  footstep,  and  opened  my  eyes  to  see  the  whole  land- 
scape flooded  with  moonlight;  and  so  miserable  was  I 
that  I  almost  envied  the  moon-crack  creatures  their  thin 
crawly  life. 


I  FIND  THE  ANGELS  97 

I  heard  the  sound  of  music,  wonderful  music,  sweet, 
winning,  persuasive  music,  which  almost  pulled  me 
away  from  myself  upward  into  the  most  perfect  dream 
I  ever  dreamed,  become  material;  such  a  state  of  con- 
sciousness as  we  name  Heaven. 

I  felt  a  touch  upon  my  shoulder  and  a  sweet,  clear 
voice  said,  " Please  come;  I  need  you.'* 

I  sprang  to  my  feet  and  looked  into  the  purest  fapp 
I  had  ever  seen,  a  face  where  nobility  of  purpose, 
strength  and  tenderness  shone  forth  in  all  their  beauty. 
A  simple  white  gown  fell  in  soft  folds  about  her  and 
her  every  movement  suggested  unconscious  grace.  An 
elderly  woman,  the  very  personification  of  motherliness, 
was  with  her,  and  a  golden  halo  encircled  her  shapely 
head.  Without  a  word.  I  followed  them.  We  entered 
a  maernificent  church  edifice;  and.  it  is  safe  to  say,  that 
it  was  never  used  for  a  better  purpose. 

I  could  not  keep  from  smiling  when  I  thousrht  how  its 
rich-robed,  self-satisfied  dames,  bankers,  and  wealth- 
seeking,  self-seeking  Sunday  occupants  would  shriek,  if 
thev  could  see  the  present  gathering. 

Mv  new  friends  a«ppnded  the  pulpit,  and  the  white- 
robed,  halo-crowned  Workers  came  in  bringing  their  lost 
sheep  and  prodigals  with  them.  It  seemed  to  me,  that 
every  class  of  vice-grinppd  prodigal  was  represented 
there,  and,  as  for  the  Workers,  I  suddenlv  realized  that 
each  had  come  UP  through  great  trials,  through  suffer- 
ing, self-effacement  and  renunciation,  to  the  place  which 
they  now  occupied.  I  knpw  that  Love  Supreme  was  the 
power  that  gave  them  their  strength  and  tenderness  and 
wisdom. 

Suddpnlv  the  murmurinsrs  of  discontent,  the  moan- 
ing, and  the  weeping,  opased  and  dead  silence  reigned  as 
a  man  appeared  standing  amidst  the  vast  crowd.  The 
organ  began  to  plav  an  old  familiar  air.  Tremblinglv, 
softlv  and  sweetlv  fell  the  tones  for  a  moment,  and  then 
the  man  began  to  sing,  "  There  were  ninety  and  nine, 
that  safely  lay  in  the  shelter  of  the  fold,"  and  0,!  how 


98  SIFTED  THROUGH 

that  man  did  sing!  No  language  can  ever  describe  it. 
The  hardened  hearts  present  melted  like  wax  in  the 
sunshine;  they  forgot  their  hatred  and  bitterness,  and 
wept  like  little  children. 

A  few  tender  encouraging  words  from  my  new  friends 
followed  this,  and  then  the  great  singer  asked  them  all 
to  join  with  him  in  singing  '  *  Jesus,  Lover  of  My  Soul.  ' ' 
Never  shall  I  forget  that  scene — I  shall  bring  the  mem- 
ory of  it  with  me  when  I  come  back. 

As  the  last  notes  died  away,  I  felt  someone  near  me, 
and  looking  up  saw  Hadan. 

"Well?"  he  said  inquiringly.  I  caught  his  hand,  and 
cried,  "I  have  found  them." 

"Found  who?" 

"The  Angels,  of  course." 

"Yes,"  he  said  slowly,  "and  when  you  get  an  oppor- 
tunity, tell  the  scoffing,  doubting  children  of  earth,  there 
is  still  power  in  the  Master's  Name  to  heal  and  save." 

I  have  told  it.  8.  C. 


CHAPTER  XIV 
ONE  CLEKGYMAN'S  EXPEKIENCE 

ES ;  I  think  I  was  very  much  disappointed  when 
I  first  found  myself  outside  my  physical  body; 
not  that  I  had  any  right  to  be,  but,  like  the  ma- 
jority of  mankind,  I  had  hoped  to  jump  from  grace  to 
glory,  hoped  that  Death  would  give  me  wings,  so  to 
speak.  I  think  there  are  very  few  church  people  that 
are  not  disappointed  in  the  after-death  conditions.  By 
church  people  I  mean  church  members  as  a  whole;  for 
very  few  of  them  are  Christians  in  the  true  sense  of  the 
word.  Many  intensely  religious  people  build  for  them- 
selves an  after-death  condition,  which  satisfies  them  for 
a  brief  time ;  but,  when  they  have  awakened  from  their 
illusion,  suffering  is  inevitable. 

Like  most  of  the  clergy,  my  idea  of  Heaven  was  very 
narrow;  and,  put  into  plain  language  and  freed  from 
emotionalism,  it  might  be  summed  up  in  this  way:  a 
place  somewhere;  God  (no  clear  idea  in  regard  to  God) ; 
Jesus,  perhaps  an  individual;  Angels,  real  beings  of  a 
superior  order ;  a  beautiful  city  with  streets  of  gold  and 
gates  of  pearl ;  harps  and  plenty  of  music  and  singing ; 
crowns  and  white  robes  to  wear ;  thrones  to  sit  upon  and 
palm  leaves  to  carry.  This,  taken  literally,  sounds  very 
foolish,  does  it  not?  Taken  figuratively,  it  is  most 
beautiful. 

If  a  person  is  foolish  enough  to  permit  himself  to  be- 
lieve in  an  after-death  condition  so  absurd  as  the  one  I 
have  depicted,  and  which  is  universally  accepted  by  so- 
called  Christians,  he  ought  to  be  greatly  disappointed, 
as  he  is. 

99 


100  SIFTED  THROUGH 

You  can  readily  see  that  the  greater  one's  love  for 
God  and  Humanity,  and  the  less  his  love  of  self,  the 
sooner  he  will  become  adjusted  to  conditions  apd  usefully 
occupied  here. 

Not  until  a  person  has  learned  to  know  himself  as 
a  being  separate  from  his  instruments,  body  and  mind, 
with  their  habits  and  tendencies,  will  he  be  able  to  dis- 
tinguish between  that  Holy  One,  Jesus  and  Christ,  the 
Son  of  God.  Fortunately  one  does  not  have  to  make 
this  distinction,  in  order  to  lead  a  blameless  life. 

Jesus  was  born  for  the  express  purpose  which  He  so 
nobly  carried  out.  Thru  ages  of  time,  He  had  been 
fitting  Himself  to  be  that  which  He  was,  and  is;  and 
Mary,  His  mother,  had  also  fitted  herself  to  ~be  His 
mother.  Thru  great  experience  and  suffering,  she  had 
been  purified. 

No  one  can  possibly  understand  the  Bible,  nor  the 
great  truths  taught  therein,  unless  he  accepts  re-embodi- 
ment as  a  truth.  At  any  time  previous  to  my  liberation 
from  my  physical  body,  I  would  have  looked  upon  the 
subject  of  re-embodiment  as  being  too  heathenish  for  a 
moment's  consideration;  and  now  I  hold  it  as  a  priceless 
truth. 

However,  I  can  truthfully  say  that  I  was  honest  and 
sincere  in  my  ministerial  work.  I  did  not  work  for 
material  gain  nor  earthly  honors ;  but  for  what  I  really 
believed  was  the  one  thing  most  desirable  of  all  things, 
and  the  best  good  for  all  humanity.  God  blessed  my 
efforts,  as  He  does  yours,  and  the  efforts  of  all  who  are 
sincere, — to  the  best  good  of  thousands, — that  is,  their 
greatest  good  at  the  time  it  came  to  them.  Good,  like 
everything  else,  is  progressive.  We  are  exhorted  to  grow 
in  grace  and  the  knowledge  of  God,  daily ;  and  the  awak- 
ened soul  will  always  do  so. 

There  is  only  one  path  to  Heaven,  and  that  is  the  path 
of  self-sacrifice,  until  that  perfect  Love  comes,  which 
knows  not  personal  self  nor  sacrifice.  Most  people  are 
so  selfish,  they  want  an  easy  road  to  Heaven ;  and  a  sue- 


ONE  CLERGYMAN'S  EXPERIENCE  101 

cession  of  lives  in  a  physical  body  does  not  appeal  to 
them.  They  want  the  things  the  way  they  want  them, 
and,  having  attained  them,  as  they  surely  will,  they  find 
trouble  and  sorrow  come  with  them. 

If  you  observe,  as  you  may  have,  you  will  notice  that 
those  who  cling  to  the  idea  of  a  far-away  Heaven  of 
perfect  bliss,  are  those  who  have  done  very  little  worth 
while  here.  Those,  who  have  conquered  earthly  things 
and  in  Spirit  are  victorious,  are  willing,  if  not  eager,  to 
return  to  earth  life  and  play  their  part  in  perfecting  a 
race,  to  perfect  the  world  God  has  given  them  for  this 
same  purpose. 

After  I  was  freed  from  my  physical  body,  I  met  many 
of  those  I  had  loved  and  lost  and  believed  (without 
much  thinking),  to  be  in  Heaven.  We  walked  in  green 
fields  and  beautiful  gardens.  We  strolled  beside  rivers 
and  lakes  and  thru  forests,' and  sat  upon  rocks  and  mossy 
knolls,  and  talked  of  past,  present  and  future.  At  my 
request,  many  of  my  friends  gave  me  their  experiences 
after  the  world  called  them  dead;  and  no  two  had  the 
same  experience.  When  I  asked,  "Where  am  I?"  they 
gave  me  no  definite  answer. 

Summed  up  it  was  like  this:  I  ask  you  where  you 
are,  and  you  reply,  * '  Here. ' ' 

Some  of  my  loved  ones  had  passed  to  a  higher  plane 
of  expression;  and  I  saw  them  only  in  vision,  a  fact 
which  puzzled  me  greatly.  I  saw  many  of  my  flock  of 
converts,  and  a  few  of  my  brethren  in  the  ministry. 
The  latter  seemed  as  much  at  a  loss  to  account  for  their 
present  conditions  as  I  was;  and  many  of  the  former 
were  inclined  to  blame  me  as  the  cause  of  their  dissatis- 
faction. A  few  derided  me  and  said  scornfully,  "You 
could  tell  us  all  about  God  and  His  plan  of  salvation 
from  start  to  finish,  when  you  were  preaching ;  and  now 
you  know  no  more  than  we  do ;  you  cannot  find  the  road 
to  Heaven  to  save  you.*' 

This  and  much  more  of  like  nature  I  listened  to ;  f or 
it  is  amazing  how  many  uncomfortable  things  an  un- 


102  SIFTED  THROUGH 

comfortable  person  can  think  of!  I  grew  very  weary 
of  it  all;  and,  as  it  was  my  custom,  I  took  it  all  to  the 
Lord  in  prayer,  and  He  heard  me  and  delivered  me. 
I  had  never  once  doubted  that  there  was  a  Lord  to 
hear,  I  had  had  too  many  wonderful  experiences  while 
in  my  physical  body  for  that.  Eight  here  and  now  I 
make  this  statement:  whoever  in  the  sincerity  of  his 
heart  and  in  faith  believing,  calls  unto  the  Lord  is  always 
heard  and  answered;  and  it  does  not  matter  either,  if 
his  idea  of  the  Lord  is  far  from  correct.  Deliverance 
does  not  always  come  to  us  in  the  way  we  think  it  ought 
to  come,  but  it  comes  in  God's  way,  which  is  always  the 
best  way. 

After  having  taken  my  troubles  to  the  Lord  in  prayer, 
I  went  to  a  rock-strewn  sea  shore  and  sat  down  and 
waited  expectantly  for  light  to  come  to  me.  After  a 
short  time,  I  felt  a  touch  upon  my  shoulder,  and,  look- 
ing up,  saw  a  man  clothed  in  a  purple  robe,  standing  be- 
side me.  The  man  was  very  fair  and  his  face  showed 
purity  and  strength;  and  the  moment  I  looked  into  his 
kindly  blue  eyes  I  felt  that  I  had  found  a  friend. 

"I  have  been  sent  to  find  you  and  take  you  with  me 
to  a  meeting  that  is  to  be  held  tonight/'  he  said  pleas- 
antly. 

"All  right!"  I  said,  and  without  a  question,  sprang  to 
my  feet,  eager  to  go. 

We  passed  with  great  rapidity,  fields,  rivers,  lakes, 
forests,  cities  and  villages.  At  last  we  came  to  a  moun- 
tain, forest-clad,  and  quite  rocky  at  the  summit.  Here, 
around  an  immense  Altar,  was  gathered  a  concourse  of 
people  numbering  several  hundred,  all  of  whom  were 
standing  silent  and  expectant.  My  guide  and  I  took 
our  places  with  the  rest.  Soon  the  space  back  of  the 
Altar  filled  with  white-robed  men  and  women ;  and,  oh ! 
such  perfect  specimens  of  spiritualized  manhood  and 
womanhood  as  they  were !  Many  of  them  carried  musical 
instruments,  and  a  large  number  wore  upon  the  forehead 
a  glittering  star,  which  I  now  know  is  everywhere  the 


ONE  CLERGYMAN'S  EXPERIENCE  103 

badge  of  the  wholly  consecrated  soul  devoted  to  rescue 
or  missionary  work. 

A  tall,  handsome  man,  with  strong  features  and  won- 
derful dark  eyes,  appeared  beside  the  Altar  as  suddenly 
as  if  he  had  dropped  from  Heaven. 

"We  will  now  begin  the  services/'  he  said;  and  he 
lighted  a  fire  upon  the  center  of  the  Altar. 

The  flames  leaped  upward  and  took  the  form  of  a  great 
cross:  a  spectacle  so  wonderful,  I  was  filled  with  awe. 
They  then  began  to  sing,  the  Teacher  leading,  and,  as 
accustomed  as  I  was  to  real  devotional  singing,  I  was 
lost  in  amazement  and  delight.  The  first  song  was  ' '  Rock 
of  Ages."  The  last  stanza  was  considerably  changed; 
but  the  next  hymn  they  sang,  "Ho,  Reapers  of  Life's 
Harvest, ' '  was  the  same  as  in  the  Gospel  Hymns. 

After  the  hymns  were  sung,  the  Teacher  lighted  a  huge 
censer  of  incense;  and,  as  the  smoke  ascended,  there 
appeared  floating  thru  and  around  it,  fairy-like  forms, 
beautiful  with  an  etherealized  beauty  beyond  descrip- 
tion. Clouds  of  dazzlinsr  light  formed  ovpr  the  Altar 
and  wisps  and  waves  of  the  most  wonderful  shades  of 
blue  and  violet  floated  over  our  heads  and  rose  in  a 
quivering  column  from  our  midst. 

Standing  reverentially  at  the  right  of  the  Altar,  the 
Teacher  told  us  that  our  beloved  Master  and  one  of  His 
disciples  of  the  olden  time  would  soon  be  with  us.  He 
said  that  twelve  of  the  Master's  faithful  followers,  who 
had  never  met  there  before,  were  present,  and  the 
Master,  having  heard  their  prayers,  and  knowing  their 
sincerity  and  devotion,  had  requested  that  they  come 
forward  to  the  Altar.  A  great  joy,  a  mighty  impulse 
that  knew  neither  doubt  nor  fear,  took  possession  of 
me,  and  I  sprang  eagerly  forward,  as  did  also  the  eleven 
others,  six  women  and  five  men. 

Assuming  the  attitude  of  prayer,  the  Teacher  in 
a  rich,  mellow  voice,  which  thrilled  my  very  being,  sang : 


104  SIFTED  THROUGH 

"How  long,  0  loving  Master,  wilt  thou  remain  away? 
Our  longing  hearts  are  waiting;  come  Thou  to  us  we 

pray! 

0  blessed  is  this  moment,  when  brighter  far  than  morn, 
The  sunlight  of  Thy  Presence  shall  on  Thy  people 

dawn. ' ' 

As  the  last  notes  of  the  song-prayer  died  away,  there 
appeared  upon  the  stone  platform  back  of  the  Altar, 
and  in  front  of  the  musicians,  in  the  full  light  of  the 
flaming  cross,  two  men  and  a  woman. 

Right  here  I  want  to  say,  that  to  the  present  I  have 
110  knowledge  regarding  the  identity  of  the  woman,  but 
her  sacred  presence  seemed  to  enfold  us  all  in  loving, 
motherly  arms.  I  still  think  of  her  as  the  perfection  of 
womanly  grace  and  Motherhood. 

Above  and  beyond  all  I  had  ever  dreamed  or  imaged, 
was  the  Man  among  men,  upon  Whom  every  eye  was 
turned.  Not  a  word  or  accent  or  movement  did  He  make 
that  could  not  be  classed  as  loving  and  simple.  0,  so 
tender  and  gentle !  ' '  The  vilest  sinner  can  indeed  go  to 
Him,"  I  thought,  for  His  understanding  is  so  great,  He 
has  already  comprehended  the  why  of  everything  we 
have  ever  done,  and,  in  that  comprehension,  He  sees 
nothing  to  forgive ;  to  Him  there  is  neither  good  nor  evil, 
0  wonderful  thought! — forgiveness  belongs  to  a  lower 
plane  of  understanding,  the  plane  where  good  and  evil 
still  struggle  for  supremacy  and  ignorance  still  reigns." 

The  idea  of  Jesus  as  a  terrible  Judge,  coming  to  take 
vengeance  on  His  enemies,  passed  forever  from  my  mind. 
0,  how  those  ancient  writings  regarding  our  blessed 
Teacher  have  been  mis-translated  and  mis-interpreted! 

While  standing  there  in  the  Master's  Presence,  it  was 
revealed  to  me  that  Jesus  and  Christ  are  two  Beings 
instead  of  One ;  and,  in  the  records  we  have,  it  was  some- 
times Jesus  that  spake  and  sometimes  Christ.  No  one 
can  ever  reason  anything  out  right  unless  he  starts 
right.  Looking  upon  Him  as  He  stood  there  before  us,  I 
understood  the  meaning  of  His  words,  "I  have  over- 


ONE  CLERGYMAN'S  EXPERIENCE  105 

come  the  world";  and  also  many  other  things  He  said. 

The  words  He  spake  to  us  this  memorable  night  were 
few  and  simple ;  but  in  their  tenderness  lay  their  power, 
or  so  it  seemed  to  me.  No  one  can  overcome  the  world 
except  thru  understanding,  soul  comprehension,  which 
enables  one  to  speak  with  authority,  which  always  carries 
conviction  to  the  minds  of  the  hearers;  add  to  this  the 
gentleness  born  of  Love  made  perfect,  and  you  have  a 
Power  which  sweeps  every  obstacle  before  it.  I  was  con- 
scious, however,  that  His  helpfulness  came  not  so  much 
from  His  words,  as  from  His  Presence,  and,  Sister,  is 
this  not  true  of  all  that  live  The  Life  ?  Do  we  not  rely 
altogether  too  much  upon  words  f 

When  the  Master  had  finished  speaking,  He  came  for- 
ward and,  taking  each  one  of  the  waiting  twelve  by  the 
hand,  He  gave  to  each  a  few  words  of  loving  recognition 
and  encouragement.  Never  will  I  forget  the  touch  of 
that  hand !  I  do  not  wonder  that  in  the  days  of  old,  the 
fever  left  those  He  touched.  Lifting  His  hands,  and 
looking  upward,  He  blessed  us,  and  then  the  whole 
gathering.  Turning  to  His  Disciple,  He  said,  indicating 
the  whole  number:  Feed  my  sheep. "  Then  turning 
to  our  Teacher,  He  said,  indicating  the  twelve,  "Feed 
my  lambs" — and  vanished  from  our  sight. 

At  the  request  of  our  Teacher  and  Leader  we  all 
joined  in  singing  the  hymn  beginning,  "We  are  living, 
we  are  dwelling  in  a  grand,  eventful  time." 

Then  the  Disciple  came  forward  and  spoke  to  us 
earnestly,  every  sentence  of  practical  value.  He  told 
us  of  this  Great  Judgment  Day,  when  the  accumulated 
wrongs  of  ages  shall  come  to  judgment;  and,  Infinite 
Love,  seated  on  its  great  white  throne,  will  see  that 
all  is  settled  right.  He  said,  that  before  this  great  day 
of  wrath  (man's  wrath,  not  God's),  is  passed,  every 
soul  will  have  been  tried  by  fire.  He  told  us  that  the 
forces  commonly  recognized  as  good  and  evil,  were  now 
rapidly  separating,  and  soon  every  person  and  every 
thing  will  be  revealed  in  a  True  Light,  a  Light  that 


106  SIFTED  THROUGH 

must  eventually  overcome  the  darkness  and  establish 
upon  this  earth,  the  reign  of  God  and  of  His  Christ; 
and  this  reign  will  endure  as  long  as  the  world  endures, 
or  until  all  of  God  involved  has  been  evolved. 

Altho  the  speaker  used,  to  a  large  extent,  the  old 
phraseology,  he  brought  out  of  it  wonderful  new  mean- 
ings. It  is  truly  amazing  how  beautiful  a  thing  will 
appear  when  the  Light  of  Truth  shines  upon  it!  And, 
0,  the  joy  that  comes  in  seeing  things  alright ! 

It  is  safe  to  say,  that  when  the  speaker  had  finished, 
we  needed  no  exhorting  to  stimulate  us  to  work  as  we 
have  never  worked  before.  As  soon  as  he  had  finished 
speaking,  the  Disciple  and  the  Supreme  Mother  (if  I 
am  permitted  to  call  her  so),  disappeared  from  our 
vision. 

Our  Teacher  then  explained  to  us  that  in  order  to 
have  success  in  anv  undertaking,  it  i«?  nec^carv  that 
each  worker  follow  the  Law  of  Love.  He  said  that  any 
person  who  undertakes  to  do  work  that  he  does  not  love 
to  do  is  doing  himself,  and  all  those  he  is  associated 
with,  an  injustice. 

"You  must  remember, "  he  said,  "that  our  Great 
Leader  wants  a  loving  service  only ;  duty  service,  viewed 
from  a  spiritual  standpoint,  is  not  service.  Love  is  the 
conquering  power,  and  the  watchword  always.  If  you 
feel  any  lack  of  love  toward  your  work,  stop  at  once; 
for  you  are  out  of  tune.  Take  to  the  people  of  earth 
this  message  wherever  possible:  "Work  in  the  Master's 
vinevard  because  vou  are  so  full  of  Love,  you  cannot  help 
working,  and  not  from  any  personal  motive  whatsoever. ' ' 

Each  of  us  then  chose  our  special  phase  of  the  work, 
and  I  chose  to  go  among  those  who  were  still  wandering 
in  shame  and  doubt  and  sorrow  unspeakable,  because  I 
could  preach  to  them  the  old  religion,  with  modifications, 
as  they  were  able  to  bear  it. 

Jesus  and  His  Disciples  never  taught  salvation  thru 
literal  blood;  but  salvation  thru  Love  Divine,  which 


ONE  CLERGYMAN'S  EXPERIENCE  107 

slays  those  animal  qualities  which  are  symbolized  by 
blood. 

Love  is  the  only  saving  power,  and  it  ever  lifts  the 
soul  upward  into  joy  and  peace  and  power. 

After  the  arrangements  regarding  our  work  had  been 
made,  we  all  joined  hands,  circle  within  circle,  with  our 
Teacher  in  the  center,  and  sang  together  "Coronation," 
just  as  you  find  it  in  the  Gospel  Hymns.  M. 


CHAPTER  XV 
ASTRAL  PLANE  EXPERIENCES 

ESUS  told  His  disciples,  that  He  would  make 
them  fishers  of  men ;  and  I  think,  my  dear  Sis- 
ter, that  is  what  you  have  become;  for  your 
line  is  dangling  in  the  waters  of  the  finer  realm  of  being, 
most  of  the  time.  Fortunately,  you  are  not  very  par- 
ticular whom  you  catch,  so  long  as  you  get  something 
helpful. 

Every  resident  of  the  Astral  world  has  his  own  ex- 
periences, which  in  some  respects  differ  from  every  other 
person's  experiences.  That  experience  known  as  Birth 
is  the  same  to  each  one  born,  and  that  experience  known 
as  Death  is  the  same  to  each  one  passing  through  it ;  but, 
as  to  what  happens  to  the  one  born  and  the  one  dead, 
immediately  after  those  activities,  that  is  another  sub- 
ject. 

In  regard  to  receiving  deceptive  communications,  I 
see  little  danger.  There  is  nothing  in  your  desires  to 
draw  a  class  of  liars  to  you ;  and  your  spiritual  develop- 
ment will  protect  you.  If  it  were  not  for  your  spiritual 
unfoldment,  you  would  be  constantly  deceived  by  those 
in  flesh  and  blood. 

The  people  of  your  country  are  a  nation  of  prevari- 
cators and  exaggerators.  The  average  American  cannot 
spend  time  to  hear  or  see  anything  accurately,  it  takes 
self -discipline  to  do  that,  but  he  will  not  deliberately 
lie  unless  a  lie  will,  in  a  business  way,  answer  his  pur- 
pose better  than  the  truth. 

People  of  an  idealistic  and  artistic  temperament,  un- 
less spiritually  developed,  are  very  likely  to  embellish 

108 


ASTRAL  PLANE  EXPERIENCES  109 

their  statements  with  frills  and  furbelows;  for  they 
rarely  ever  see  anything  in  the  same  light  in  which  a 
prosaic,  matter-of-fact  person  sees  it.  Sometimes  the 
idealist  sees  things  from  a  truer  standpoint  than  the 
other;  and  he  almost  always  sees  it  as  it  ought  to  have 
been. 

The  untruthful  person  has  a  hard  time  here;  for  he 
finds  nothing  permanent  nor  substantial.  His  friends 
vanish;  his  home  dissolves;  and,  even  the  ground  upon 
which  he  treads,  breaks  under  his  feet,  and  the  verdure 
withers  and  fades. 

We  each  find  our  own  place  and  the  conditions  exist- 
ing there  are  those  we  have  made  for  ourselves,  those 
in  harmony  with  ourselves.  Conditions  here  frequently 
change  rapidly,  according  to  the  strength  of  the  emo- 
tions. Where  you  go,  what  you  find,  whom  you  see, 
depends  upon  your  rate  of  vibration. 

If  your  heart  is  filled  with  the  Christ  Love,  you  are 
vibrating  with  angels ;  and  you  will  be  one  with  them.  If 
your  heart  is  full  of  hatred,  you  are  vibrating  with 
devils  and  must  be  one  with  them  until  hatred  has  been 
eliminated.  If  you  are  just  average  mortal,  in  whom 
good  and  evil  struggle  for  supremacy,  then  you  are 
elected  to  have  many  vivid  experiences;  for  this  Astral 
realm  is  the  threshing  floor  where  we  learn  to  discrimi- 
nate between  the  wheat  and  the  chaff. 

Among  my  acquaintances  in  earth  life  was  Lord  X 
who  was  not  a  bad  man,  except  for  a  terrible  hatred 
which  he  entertained  toward  Lord  B,  who  owned  an 
adjoining  estate.  The  two  men  left  their  physical  bodies 
about  the  same  time.  I  met  Lord  X  one  day  when  I 
was  traveling  and  stopped  to  chat  with  him. 

While  we  were  talking,  Lord  B  came  along,  and  X 
flew  into  a  most  terrible  rage.  The  effect  was  frightful. 
X  was  immediately  enveloped  in  a  sheet  of  flame,  from 
and  through  which  zigzag  flashes,  if  inky  blackness 
can  be  designated  that  way,  shot  and  quivered.  B  gave 
one  startled  look  at  his  enemv  and  fled. 


110  SIFTED  THROUGH 

X  went  down,  down  in  a  lurid  glare  and  his  anger 
turned  to  terror  and,  when  he  began  to  call  on  God  to 
save  him  from — he  knew  not  what,  the  atmosphere 
around  him  began  to  change  to  an  ashen  gray.  I  let  the 
God  in  me  come  to  the  rescue  of  X  and,  after  a  time, 
normal  conditions  were  restored,  but  not  without  great 
suffering  to  him.  X  never  dared  to  give  way  to  his 
passion  again,  but  a  person  who  is  good  through  fear  is 
not  very  good. 

Time  went  on  and  I  met  both  men  frequently,  and  they 
would  have  met  each  other,  if  they  had  not  studiously 
avoided  it.  Next  to  a  strong  love,  there  is  nothing  which 
draws  so  persistently  as  hatred.  Whatever  the  object 
hated,  that  object  will  follow  one  like  his  shadow. 

B,  while  in  the  physical  body,  had  been  a  great  sinner 
where  young  women  were  concerned,  and  here  he  beheld 
his  past  conduct  in  its  true  light  and  sensed  the  depth 
of  the  suffering  he  had  brought  to  pass.  The  man  had 
much  good  in  him,  and  it  awakened  and  he  was  filled 
with  remorse  and  intense  suffering.  He  had  really  loved 
two  persons  in  his  earth  life,  his  mother  and  a  little 
sister,  who  had  passed  out  in  childhood.  Before  his 
awakening,  he  had  sought  diligently  to  find  these  loved 
ones;  but  after  he  was  awakened,  he  lived  in  constant 
fear  lest  they  should  come  to  him  and  read  his  shameful 
history. 

In  his  agony  of  soul  he  prayed,  prayed  earnestly  such 
a  prayer  as  a  man  can  never  pray  but  once  in  any 
stage  of  expression.  As  always,  the  answer  came,  for 
the  Watchers  always  hear  and  never  fail. 

Beside  B  stood  a  white-robed  being,  wearing  the  badge 
of  the  missionary  spirit ;  tenderly  he  lifted  the  fallen  man 
and  explained  to  him  the  wondrous  Love  Divine,  which 
alone  can  save.  He  explained  to  him  why  his  loved  ones 
had  not  been  to  him  and  comforted  and  counseled  him. 
The  result  was,  that  B  established  a  mission  for  that 
class  of  women,  whom  the  world  looks  upon  as  outcasts. 

Mental    conditions   hold   for   a   time,    often   a   long 


ASTRAL  PLANE  EXPERIENCES  111 

time,  after  one  is  liberated  from  the  physical  body ;  and, 
when  a  woman  has  stepped  aside  from  the  prescribed 
path  of  virtue,  she  has  it  so  firmly  fixed  in  her  mind 
that  she  is  an  outcast,  that  here  where  she  feels  sure 
every  one  knows,  she  persistently  hides  away  in  shame 
and  terror,  oftentimes  mingled  with  bitterness,  envy  and 
resentment. 

Love,  tenderness  and  patience  are  required  to  do  this 
rescue  work  successfully,  and  these  qualities  our  friend 
B  cultivated  to  such  an  extent,  that  he  became  radiant 
with  life  and  power;  and  his  lifetime  enemy  X  became 
so  in  love  with  him,  that  he  joined  with  him  in  the  good 
work,  a  loyal  friend  and  helper. 

It  seems  so  strange  to  me  that  the  people  of  earth 
cannot  see  that  Love  is  the  only  power  that  can  trans- 
form, lift  up,  purify,  strengthen,  illumine  and  save. 

There  are  thousands  of  people  who  would  be  glad  to 
help  the  people  of  earth,  by  giving  their  experiences 
here,  but  the  tales  they  would  tell  are  of  a  nature  that 
their  names  could  not  be  given,  or  else  they  are  of  a 
nature  that  would  not  harmonize  with  the  world's  idea 
concerning  them. 

The  members  of  a  man's  family  are  often  his  worst 
enemies,  for  by  their  strong  thought  force,  they  bind 
him  to  pain  and  weakness,  when  he  is  trying  to  be  well 
and  strong.  They  will  calmly  tell  you  that  he  has  a 
terrible  temper  and  expect  him  to  demonstrate  their 
statement,  when,  with  all  his  might,  he  is  struggling  to 
overcome  it. 

After  he  has  been  free  from  the  flesh  long  enough  to 
learn  a  good  way,  if  he  tries  to  send  back  word  of  his  life 
and  activities,  his  friends  with  one  accord  will  arise  and 
declare  they  know  he  never  said  any  such  thing,  for  he 
was  never  a  religious  man,  etc.  In  fact  they  want  him 
to  return  just  as  boisterous  and  profane  as  when  he 
went  away. 

When  the  people  of  earth  get  where  they  can  see  the 
good,  pure,  noble  qualities  in  each  other,  and  as  con- 


112  SIFTED  THROUGH 

fidently  look  for  tJieir  manifestation  as  they  now  watch 
for  the  bad,  both  astral  and  material  realms  will  grow 
better  rapidly. 

Among  my  recent  acquaintances  is  a  well-known  physi- 
cian. You  would  at  once  recognize  the  name,  if  I  were 
to  give  it.  I  will  tell  the  doctor's  story  brief ly  and  as 
nearly  as  possible  in  his  own  words. 

He  said,  c '  There  is  no  class  of  men  on  earth  who  have 
it  in  their  power  to  do  as  much  good  as  the  physicians ; 
but,  as  it  is  with  every  other  vocation,  so  it  is  with  that ; 
some  honor  their  profession  and  some  use  it  as  a  means 
to  a  wholly  selfish  end,  and  such  doctors  are  dangerous 
men  and  I  was  one  of  them. 

"I  worked  for  wealth  and  fame,  especially  fame,  and 
I  let  very  little  stand  in  my  way.  I  would  not  dare  tell 
the  crimes  (I  now  see  them  as  such)  that  I  know  about, 
and  my  own  sins  rise  mountain  high.  Secretly  I  prac- 
ticed vivisection  and  I  grew  cold  and  hard  and  cruel  in 
my  nature,  just  as  every  one  else  does,  who  does  cruel 
things. 

"The  idea  you  hold  to  excuse  yourself,  that  you  are 
committing  your  crime  in  the  interests  of  science,  does 
not  prevent  the  Law  from  rewarding  you  according  to 
your  deeds.  Besides,  there  is  a  terrible  danger  looms 
up  before  the  vivisectionist  and  his  supporters,  I  mean 
human  vivisection. 

"Let  no  one  for  a  moment  dream  that  the  crime  will 
stop  with  the  torturing  of  helpless  animals ;  for  it  never 
will. 

"I  did  not  believe  in  a  future  life.  I  went  to  church 
at  rare  intervals  to  please  my  wife,  and  I  pitied  the  poor, 
foolish  preacher  for  being  so  deluded.  I  died  suddenly. 
I  never  dreamed  that  I  was  going,  until  I  found  myself 
looking  at  myself.  After  a  time,  it  dawned  upon  my 
consciousness  that  /  was  not  my  body,  but  something 
separate.  I  attended  my  own  funeral,  but  I  did  not 
think  much  of  it.  The  minister  was  conscientious  and  he 
had  a  hard  time  of  it  and  I  grew  resentful.  I  was  con- 


ASTRAL  PLANE  EXPERIENCES  113 

seious  that  my  family  were  trying  hard  to  be  properly 
sorrowful,  and  I  heard  some  of  my  medical  associates 
call  me  hard,  unfeeling  and  mercenary. 

"I  was  angry  and  uncomfortable  generally  and  in 
desperation  I  tried  to  get  away  from  home  and  associates. 
I  do  not  know  what  did  happen;  the  dim  light  I  had 
been  in  was  gone  and  darkness  dense  and  heavy,  en- 
veloped me.  I  felt  very  weary  and  sank  down  on  the 
sand  to  rest.  I  seemed  to  be  upon  the  shore  of  some 
river  and  a  deadly  terror  came  over  me.  I  tried  to 
arise  and  flee  away,  somewhere,  but  my  limbs  seemed  to 
be  tightly  bound  and  I  struggled  in  vain  for  freedom. 

"I  do  not  understand  it,  but  it  was,  I  suppose  it  had 
to  be.  Once  I  had  taken  a  beautiful  spaniel  and,  while 
living,  had  cut  her  limb  by  limb.  After  a  little,  she 
suffered  mutely,  watching  my  movements  with  her  soft 
brown  eyes,  human  in  their  helpless  pleading ;  and  now, 
in  my  helplessness,  those  great  brown  eyes  looked  at  me 
out  of  the  darkness,  whichever  way  I  turned,  they  gazed 
at  me.  A  horror  took  possession  of  me  and  I  shrieked 
wildly,  but  only  taunting  echoes  answered  me.  The 
forms  and  faces  of  pauper  patients  whom  I  had  experi- 
mented upon  and,  because  they  could  not  remunerate 
me,  had  needlessly  operated  upon  or  caused  much  un- 
necessary suffering,  passed  by  me,  gazing  at  me  with 
sad,  reproachful  faces. 

"After  what  seemed  to  me  an  age  of  agony,  I  grew 
quiet;  and  then  my  past  earth  life  unrolled  before  me 
and  I  saw  myself,  and  all  the  old  hymns  that  my  Presby- 
terian grandfather  used  to  sing,  about  vile  sinners,  worms 
and  helplessness,  did  not  begin  to  describe  me  as  I  saw 
myself.  What  did  I  do  ?  I  did  what  millions  of  people 
have  done.  I  lay  prone  in  the  sand  and  prayed  and,  as 
I  prayed,  I  became  conscious  of  the  fact,  that  every  soul 
in  the  last  extremity  prays,  which  proves  that  the  real 
of  every  person  knows  there  is  an  unfailing  power  to 
pray  to. 


114  SIFTED  THROUGH 

"In  a  very  old  book,  which  some  of  you  have  not 
buried  in  the  rubbish  heap,  it  says,  that  'whoever  calls 
upon  the  name  of  the  Lord,  shall  be  saved ' ;  I  have  yet 
to  be  convinced  that  that  is  not  true.  A  white-robed 
being,  more  radiant  to  my  eyes  than  the  noonday,  came 
to  me  and  showed  me  the  way  of  salvation,  through 
loving  service. "  So  ends  this  physician's  story. 

CHARLIE. 


CHAPTER  XVI 
OBSESSION 


[THING  the  last  few  years  thousands  of  teachers 
have  arisen,  and  a  multitude  of  old  theories,  em- 
bellished and  more  or  less  elaborated,  have  been 
given  to  the  world  as  new;  and  a  great  many  new  cults 
have  been  formed,  all  of  which  have  been  more  or  less 
helpful  and  also  more  or  less  misleading. 

In  all  this  multitude  of  theories,  teachings  and  elabo- 
rate philosophies,  there  has  not  been  one  new  truth 
given.  Every  truth  is  to  be  found  between  the  covers 
of  your  New  Testament.  This  may  seem  a  bold  state- 
ment, but,  if  you  will  make  a  list  of  all  the  truths  you 
possess  and  bring  it  up  to  the  Great  Central  Light,  you 
will  find  it  is  a  statement  which  cannot  be  refuted. 

You  are  told  by  the  modern  teachers,  that  there  is 
no  such  thing  as  evil.  From  one  standpoint,  that  is  really 
true  but,  from  the  opposite  standpoint,  it  is  equally 
false.  Good  and  evil  are  relative  terms,  and  what  is  good 
under  certain  conditions  will  be  considered  evil  under 
opposite  conditions.  Good  and  evil,  like  light  and  dark- 
ness, or  heat  and  cold,  are  opposite  conditions,  and  your 
idea  of  one  is  governed  by  your  idea  of  the  other. 

Spirit  is  a  transmuting  power  that  can  change  evil 
into  good,  but  it  has  to  be  changed. 

Again,  we  are  told  that  evil  is  the  unripe  fruit,  yes, 
but  we  do  not  deny  the  existence  of  unripe  fruit,  do  we  ? 
It  is  absolutely  necessary  to  have  unripe  fruit  in  order 
to  have  the  ripe ;  but  the  finished  product  does  not  make 
the  unfinished  any  less  sour  or  bitter. 

Define  a  hypocrite :  a  man  who  claims  to  have  realized 

115 


116  SIFTED  THROUGH 

a  certain  state  or  condition  that  he  has  not  yet  attained 
to,  but  to  which  he  will  eventually  attain.  Both  condi- 
tions exist  as  conditions,  do  they  not  ?  A  sinner  may  be 
a  man  who  is  content  to  follow  the  inclinations  of  his 
animal  nature,  having  never  felt  the  spiritual  urge  which 
causes  him  to  recognize  something  better  beyond ;  or  he 
may  be  a  man  who  has  felt  the  urge  and  is  ignorantly 
struggling  against  it ;  a  man  whose  intellect  is  ever  trying 
to  meet  the  spiritual  urge  with  art  and  cunning,  trying 
to  establish  itself  as  god  and  commanding  the  animal 
nature  to  reverence  and  obey  it. 

The  sins  of  the  animal  nature  are  not  to  be  compared 
in  enormity  to  the  sins  of  the  unspiritualized  intellectual 
nature.  In  either  case,  the  man  is  unripe  fruit,  but  he, 
as  unripe  fruit,  has  just  as  real  an  existence  as  the  ripe, 
for  you  cannot  have  the  ripe  without  the  unripe  first  and 
you  cannot  deny  the  existence  of  one  without  denying  the 
other. 

Nature  furnishes  nothing  which  cannot  be  converted 
into  or  utilized  for  good,  but  it  has  to  be  converted  or 
changed,  or  it  is  not  good. 

God  is  manifesting  in  that  unripe  fruit ;  for  God  is  the 
one  life;  therefore,  its  life;  and  God  is  the  only  urge 
to  growth  and  the  only  power  of  expansion ;  so  the  sinner 
is  a  manifestation  of  Deity,  but  a  very  unfinished 
product. 

Let  us  now  turn  our  faces  to  the  Light  of  the  World, 
the  Light  never  yet  overcome  with  darkness.  I  am  well 
aware  that  the  world,  both  religious  and  secular,  thinks 
it  knows  that  the  four  Gospels  were  written  at  least  two 
hundred  years  after  the  events  transpired.  I  am  also 
aware  of  the  fact  that  the  world  does  not  know  all  there 
is  to  be  known;  also  I  know,  that  there  is  truth  enough 
revealed  in  those  four  Gospels  to  transform  this  earth 
into  a  perfect  heaven;  but  men  will  not  seek  the  Light 
as  long  as  they  love  darkness  better. 

You  will  observe  that  Jesus  recognized  evil,  clothed 
in  flesh  and  blood,  and  also  evil  unclothed  by  flesh  and 


OBSESSION  117 

blood.  He  also  recognized  that  an  unclothed  evil  entity 
can  control  a  clothed  evil  entity,  and  instead  of  saying 
to  the  controlled  man,  "Sir,  you  are  following  error  in- 
stead of  truth,  God  never  made  an  evil  spirit,  therefore, 
there  is  none ;  change  your  mental  attitude  and  you  will 
be  free,"  He,  in  every  case,  said:  "Come  out  of  him" 
and,  in  every  instance,  the  command  was  obeyed. 

Who  or  what  are  these  evil  or  obsessing  influences? 
Some  of  them  are  evolving  beings,  never  yet  involved  in 
flesh  and  blood;  some  are  those  freed  from  the  mortal 
body  for  a  time,  who  passed  out  with  a  very  intense 
desire  to  perform  an  evil  act;  some  are  those  who  per- 
sistently refused  to  listen  to  the  voice  of  conscience,  or 
the  urge  of  the  spirit  within,  and  are  caught  in  the  great 
rhythmic  law  of  ebb  and  flow,  borne  far  backward,  and 
frantically  cling  to  any  flesh  and  blood  entity  of  like 
tendencies  to  their  own.  Surely  you  have  learned  that 
death  does  not  change  a  man's  character;  neither  does 
it  keep  his  character  from  changing. 

We  now  come  to  the  very  important  question,  "Why 
and  how  does  a  man  become  obsessed?"  First,  why? 
Because  he  is  living  an  abnormal  life ;  an  obsessed  person 
is  always  a  one-sided  person.  If  you  eat  diseased  and 
unnatural  food,  you  will  become  physically  diseased,  and 
if  you  feed  upon  unnatural,  perverted  mental  food,  you 
will  become  mentally  diseased.  A  person  who  leads  a 
frivolous,  aimless  life,  thinking  first  of  self,  and  viewing 
others  and  their  activities  from  the  standpoint  of  his 
own  fancies,  prejudices  and  opinions,  is  in  the  road  to 
obsession. 

You  must  remember  there  are  many  forms  of  obses- 
sion and  not  all  are  of  a  violent  type.  An  inactive,  in- 
door life  furnishes  an  opportunity  for  an  obsessing  in- 
fluence, unless  the  mind  is  guided  and  held  in  healthful 
channels.  No  person  with  a  healthy,  normal  body  and 
mind  can  be  obsessed.  Unrestrained  appetite  or  passion, 
manifesting  entirely,  or  largely,  in  the  mental  activities, 
produces  the  most  terrible  forms  of  obsession. 


118  SIFTED  THROUGH 

How  does  a  man  become  obsessed  ?  By  weakly  yield- 
ing to  impulses  having  a  downward  tendency ;  by  toying 
with  temptation;  by  selfishly  insisting  upon  having  his 
own  way,  regardless  of  other  people 's  feelings ;  by  grati- 
fying the  animal  nature  in  every  possible  way  he  dare ; 
and  by  giving  uncontrolled  liberty  to  his  thoughts,  re- 
gardless of  their  nature. 

You  have  been  warned  that  at  the  close  of  this  Age, 
there  will  be  a  strong  delusion  abroad  in  the  land,  and 
there  will  attend  it  much  power  and  many  signs  and 
wonders  of  falsehood.  You  are  also  told  that  at  the  close 
of  the  Age,  many  will  depart  from  the  truth,  and  give 
their  attention  to  misleading  spirits  and  the  teachings  of 
evil  beings,  who  will  use  teachers  that  are  trying  to 
gratify  their  selfish  desires  and  please  the  people  that 
come  to  them,  regardless  of  the  truth ;  and  foolish,  idle 
women,  seeking  to  be  amused  and  to  gratify  their  own 
silly  whims  are  the  largest  class  led  away. 

You  are  also  instructed  to  try  or  test  the  spirits.  The 
instructor  did  not  say,  "do  not  listen  to  discarnate  be- 
ings; have  nothing  whatever  to  do  with  them  for  they 
are  all  evil,  pernicious  and  misleading."  0,  no!  "Test 
them  and  see  whether  they  are  of  God  or  not."  This 
testing  does  not  apply  to  the  members  of  your  family 
and  intimate  friends  whom  you  have  known  and  loved, 
and  who  would,  because  of  their  love  for  you,  try  to  com- 
municate with  you;  but  rather  to  those  who  endeavor 
to  guide,  teach  and  lead  you  into  a  knowledge  you  do 
not  possess. 

There  is  always  danger  in  dealing  with  an  unseen  and 
unknown  force;  but  wisdom  removes  danger.  Beings, 
clothed  in  finer  bodies  than  those  of  flesh  and  blood,  are 
a  mighty  power  in  the  material  world  today,  but  they 
must  have  bodies  of  flesh  to  express  themselves  through ; 
and  the  person  chosen  for  that  purpose  must  be  either 
one  perfectly  passive — for  the  time  mindless,  or  one  of 
like  nature — so  sympathetic  that  giver  and  receiver  are 
of  one  accord.  The  latter  will,  by  the  higher  beings, 
always  be  the  instrument  chosen,  if  possible. 


OBSESSION  119 

Remember,  that  no  power  in  all  the  regions  of  dark- 
ness and  sin  can  obsess  you  unless  you  open  the  door 
yourself.  Remember  that  when  you  hold  a  well  defined 
thought,  you  connect  with  other  minds  holding  thoughts 
of  like  nature.  This  is  the  law  and  the  longer  you  hold 
your  thought  the  more  intense  it  becomes  and  the 
stronger  becomes  the  desire  born  of  it.  Paul  said  he 
"captured  every  thought  and  brought  it  into  submission 
to  the  Christ."  He  also  tells  you  to  find  true,  honest, 
just,  pure,  lovely,  virtuous  and  praiseworthy  things  and 
think  about  them.  In  that  one  item  of  instruction  lies 
the  prevention  of  obsession. 

"Believe  not  every  spirit,  but  prove  them/'  With 
the  warning  comes  the  necessary  instruction:  "Hereby 
know  ye  the  Spirit  of  God;  every  spirit  that  confesses 
that  Christ  came  clothed  in  flesh  is  of  God,  but  the  spirits 
that  will  not  acknowledge  or  admit  this  are  anti-Christ. ' ' 
No  one  can  confess  (using  the  word  with  the  meaning  of 
St.  John)  without  knowing  Christ. 

If  he  knows  Christ,  he  knows  the  Father  also;  and, 
having  attained  to  this  knowledge,  he  cannot  be  de- 
ceived. This  places  all  sane,  safe  and  desirable  spirit 
communion  upon  a  high  spiritual  basis.  God  is  Love, 
and  all  who  are  living  in  the  spirit  of  Love  are  living  in 
union  with  God  and  God  with  them. 

If  you  wish  to  gratify  your  selfish  desires,  at  the  ex- 
pense of  your  soul,  you  can,  God  lets  you;  but  you 
must  take  the  full  measure  of  results  attending  your 
choice.  If  you  indulge  in  thoughts  of  hatred,  revenge, 
retaliation,  jealousy  or  vindictiveness  in  any  form,  you 
will  draw  to  yourself  a  class  of  murderous  entities.  Be- 
ware !  If  you  give  rein  to  the  appetites  and  desires  of 
your  lower  nature,  throngs  of  undesirable  beings  will 
be  in  sympathy  with  you.  Beware !  If  you  constant!}7 
fear  or  abnormally  desire  death,  you  are  creating  an 
unhealthy  atmosphere,  which  will  react  upon  you  in 
some  wav. 


120  SIFTED  THROUGH 

Often  you  become  the  plaything  of  evilly  disposed  en- 
tities, who  will  constantly  delude  you  into  the  belief 
that  your  time  of  departure  is  at  hand,  often*  giving 
the  exact  time  for  the  event  to  occur.  This  is  quite  a 
common  form  of  obsession  among  the  aged  and  insuffi- 
ciently occupied. 

Again  I  refer  you  to  the  Light  of  the  World.  He 
taught  you  to  live  one  day  at  a  time,  and  work,  giving 
no  anxious  thought  to  the  future.  He  taught  you,  that 
the  issues  of  life  and  death  lie  in  God's  hands,  and  not 
even  the  angels  of  Heaven  know  the  day  and  hour  of 
your  release.  He  taught  you  to  have  faith  in  God  and, 
if  you  do,  you  will  be  so  active  in  some  useful  occupa- 
tion, that  you  will  have  no  time  to  die  before  your  time 
comes. 

Face  the  matter  squarely:  if  you  are  obsessed,  you 
alone  are  to  blame.  If  you  follow  the  Light,  the  dark- 
ness will  not  follow  you,  for  darkness  is  forever  over- 
come with  Light.  Beware  of  abnormal  tendencies.  If 
you  have  Christ  in  you,  you  will  have  faith  in  God,  and 
if  you  have  faith  in  God,  you  will  not  resort  to  any 
form  of  magic  to  guide  you  or  disclose  to  you  future 
events. 

If  you  feel  that  you  need  instruction,  comfort  or 
counsel,  through  the  instrumentality  of  flesh  and  blood, 
seek  from  a  source  that  bears  the  stamp  of  divinity,  for 
you  are  not  in  darkness  concerning  the  matter,  unless 
you  wilfully  turn  away  from  the  light. 

"Where  you  find  love,  joy,  peace,  forbearance,  kindli- 
ness, generosity,  truthfulness,  gentleness  and  self-control, 
manifesting  at  all  times,  there  you  will  find  the  spirit  of 
Truth — there  God  is  manifesting,  whether  the  teacher  be 
in  flesh  and  blood  or  not,  for  the  two  as  one,  are  con- 
stantly testifying  that  Christ  has  come  in  the  flesh. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

A  CONNECTICUT  YANKEE  HITS  THE 
TEAIL  AND  TURNS  MISSION- 
ARY AT  LARGE 

NEVER  banked  much  on  religion.  It  was  not 
my  long  coat.  Perhaps,  if  I  had  learned  to  dis- 
criminate; well,  we  all  learn  the  things  we  must 
learn,  sometime,  but  it  seems  to  be  in  the  "sweet  by 
and  by"  that  most  of  us  learn  that  Truth  is  Truth,  re- 
gardless of  the  character  of  its  advocates. 

Water  is  water,  whether  the  spout  that  it  flows 
through  be  made  of  wood  or  iron,  lead  or  silver.  "When 
Truth  speaks,  it  matter  not  to  IT,  whether  it  be  devil 
or  angel  that  repeats  its  words. 

I  was  uncomfortable,  mighty  uncomfortable.  Doubt 
is  a  tormentor,  and  the  place  that  you  are  in,  or  the 
garment  that  you  are  clothed  in,  does  not  lessen  or  in- 
crease the  torment.  Doubt  is  one  of  the  demons  of  dark- 
ness which  clutch  at  your  throat  and  kill  the  peace  and 
joy  all  out  of  you,  if  you  will  let  it.  On  the  other  hand 
is  Faith,  which  makes  the  soul  strong  to  do  and  dare  and 
triumph,  where  the  doubting  soul  would  sink  into  leth- 
argy and  defeat. 

During  my  earth  life  I  shelved  a  good  many  problems, 
but  they  unshelved  themselves  in  a  hurry  when  I  came 
here  and,  like  a  pack  of  wolves,  they  sprang  at  me  to 
rend  and  tear.  I  fed  them  everything  that  I  had  to 
feed  to  stave  them  off,  all  to  no  purpose.  I  tried  to  run 
away  from  them,  but  the  ground  that  I  thought  solid, 
broke  under  me  and  I  fell  shamefully. 

You  can  set  down  as  Truth,  the  familiar  words, 
"Nothing  is  ever  settled  until  it  is  settled  right." 

Error  is  often  a  most  fascinating  creature  and  that 
is  why  it  has  so  many  votaries.  The  average  man  de- 
clines to  believe  anything  that  makes  him  feel  uncom- 
fortable ;  and  error  very  often  soothes,  while  it  destroys. 

121 


122  SIFTED  THROUGH 

Truth  is  the  opposite  and  probes  deeply  and  spares  not, 
until  health  flows  freely  through  every  cell  and  vein. 

There  was  something  wrong  with  me.  I  could  not 
deny  that  fact.  I  had  tightened  all  the  loose  screws 
that  I  could  find,  but  it  only  made  matters  worse. 
Sometimes  a  too  tight  screw  makes  as  much  trouble  as 
a  loose  one ;  it  proved  so  in  my  case. 

During  my  earth  life,  I  sampled  almost  every  religion, 
some  of  them  very  gingerly  but  I  did  not  give  very 
serious  thought  to  any  of  them.  I  did  not  have  time. 
There  are  always  many  important  things  to  think  about ; 
the  best  brand  of  cigars,  the  result  of  the  latest  ball 
game,  the  villainous  character  of  the  political  candidates 
not  in  your  party,  the  weather,  and  other  tremendous 
problems. 

I  am  convinced  that,  if  God  should  double  the  length 
of  the  present  day,  there  would  not  be  time  enough 
for  the  average  man  and  woman  to  think  about  spiritual 
things.  Most  people  hold  a  vague  idea  that  the  word 
spiritual  pertains  to  after-death  conditions,  in  which 
death  is  the  most  important  factor ;  but  it  is  safe  to 
say,  that  the  average  man  will  have  to  die  several  times, 
provided  death  is  the  only  spiritualizing  factor. 

Some  interpret  spiritual  as  pertaining  to  spirits ;  their 
idea  of  spirits  being  too  absurd  for  contemplation.  A 
spirit  is  an  individual.  Are  not  you  yourself  the  in- 
dividual, just  as  much  when  clothed  in  thin  muslin,  as 
you  are  when  clothed  in  khaki?  We  have  bodies  here, 
do  not  be  foolish  enough  to  think  that  there  is  nothing 
material,  except  what  your  physical  senses  recognize  as 
being  material.  It  does  not  increase  your  spirituality, 
to  any  great  extent,  to  take  off  your  ulster  and  go  into 
the  next  room. 

I  was  very  much  dissatisfied.  Perhaps,  you  think  that 
any  man  finding  himself  alive,  after  having  passed  the 
portal,  Death,  ought  to  be  satisfied,  but  if  you  hold  that 
thought,  get  rid  of  it,  for  many  would  be  better  satisfied 
if  they  found  themselves  dead.  Many  expect  to  find 


A  CONNECTICUT  YANKEE  123 

things  in  general  greatly  changed  here,  and  look  eagerly 
forward  to  their  freedom  from  earth  life,  but  if  you 
know  where  Earth  leaves  off  and  Here  begins,  you  are 
wondrous  wise. 

The  Divinest  Character  that  ever  trod  the  paths  of 
earth  life  said,  ''You  shall  know  the  Truth "  and,  when, 
this  same  Divine  Being  stood  before  a  gorgeous,  but 
petty,  Roman  ruler,  he,  the  small  but  gorgeous  one, 
puzzled  and  mentally  tortured,  asked  a  question  which 
every  puzzled  and  tortured  awakening  soul  has  often 
asked  ever  since:  "What  is  Truth f" 

I  knew  enough  to  know  that  doubting  and  groaning 
would  do  no  good,  so  I  started  to  hit  the  trail  to  the 
region  of  Truth,  but  carefully  avoided  the  churches.  I 
had  not  traveled  far  until  I  saw  a  man  standing  upon  a 
high  hill  and  I  jumped  at  once  to  the  conclusion,  that 
he  had  climbed  above  the  lower  earth  vibrations  to  medi- 
tate in  a  holier  atmosphere;  so,  hoping,  always  hoping, 
I  ascended  the  mountain  and  stood  beside  him. 

The  man  turned  to  me  in  evident  consternation,  "0. 
sir, ' '  he  said, ' '  why  are  you  here  ?  What  do  you  want  ? ' ' 

I  was  so  taken  aback  at  the  man's  alarm,  that  I  stam- 
mered, " Excuse  me,  sir,  but  why  are  you  here?" 

"11  I  came  here  to  get  into  the  light,  away  from 
the  awful  darkness,  away  from  them." 

"Them?    What  and  where  is  them?"  I  asked. 

' '  Down  there !  Do  you  not  see  ?  There,  the  devil  and 
his  imps.  The  darkness  is  full  of  them ! ' '  and  he  turned 
shudderingly  away. 

I  saw  nothing,  but  I  said : '  *  Why  do  you  come  here  for 
refuge?  A  mountain  top  is  no  safer  than  any  other 
place.  Do  you  not  remember  that  Satan  himself  once 
stood  upon  the  top  of  a  very  high  mountain  in  compariv 
with  our  Lord,  and  tried  to  work  one  of  his  subtlest 
schemes  there  ?  * ' 

For  a  moment  the  man  stared  at  me  as  if  paralyzed 
and  then  fixing  his  cork-screwish  eyes  full  upon  me,  he 
fairly  hissed,  "Who  are  you?" 


124  SIFTED  THROUGH 

"Me,  oh,  I  am  Satan/ '  I  answered  carelessly,  but 
the  effect  of  my  words  was  electrical. 

"I  knew  it  the  minute  I  saw  you,"  he  shrieked.  "0, 
Lord  save  me  now ! ' '  and,  without  waiting  a  second  for 
the  Lord  to  do  it,  he  plunged  wildly  down  the  mountain 
side. 

I  did  not  think  that  the  man  would  take  my  joke 
seriously;  and  I  was  filled  with  contrition.  Rushing  to 
the  brow  of  the  hill  I  shouted,  ' '  Hold  on  friend,  hold  on. 
I  am  not  Satan.  I  am  S —  C — ."  The  man  paused  for 
an  instant  in  his  headlong  flight  and  defiantly  hurled  a 
stone  in  my  direction. 

"You  cannot  fool  me,"  he  screamed,  "S —  C —  or  the 
devil,  it  is  all  the  same,"  and  he  disappeared  over  a 
cliff  out  of  my  sight. 

"Now  sir,"  I  said  to  myself,  "You  sit  down  on  that 
rock  and  do  some  thinking."  Every  statement  is  either 
true  or  untrue ;  now  you  get  busy  and  find  all  the  truth 
there  is  in  this  thrilling  episode.  In  the  first  place,  why 
did  you  tell  that  man  that  you  were  Satan  1  You  knew 
that  it  was  not  true  and  you  expected  him  to  know  it 
also ;  and,  if  he  had  not  been  obsessed  by  the  devil-idea, 
he  would  have  known  it,  and  yet  Satan  means  adversary 
and  you  certainly  proved  yourself  adverse  to  him. 

If  you  lied  to  him,  he  lied  to  you;  for  he  said  he 
knew  that  you  were  the  devil,  the  minute  he  looked  at 
you  and,  it  is  evident,  that  he  could  not  know  an  untruth ; 
besides,  he  never  thought  of  such  a  possibility  until  you, 
yourself,  suggested  it.  Why  did  you  speak  those  words  ? 
Why  did  you  suggest  the  possibility  of  a  devil  here  in 
this  beautiful  place?  The  man  was  in  great  need  of 
help  and  you  only  increased  his  trouble."  I  groaned. 
On  the  other  hand,  I  mused,  "if  the  man  had  not  been 
full  of  the  thought  of  devils,  and  watching  and  searching 
for  them,  he  would  never  have  found  them. ' ' 

It  was  evident  that  the  trouble  lay  in  the  mind  of 
the  man,  but  I  felt  guilty,  for  certainly  I  had  contributed 
to  his  delinquency;  besides,  I  had  a  fine  opportunity  to 


A  CONNECTICUT  YANKEE  125 

do  good  and  had  failed  miserably.  Again  I  groaned,  then 
I  also  fled  from  the  mountain  top. 

A  ray  of  light  like  a  dagger  fell  across  my  pathway 
and  the  familiar  words,  "Evil  to  him  that  evil  thinks," 
rang  in  my  ears,  and  the  careless  thought  habit,  so  long 
indulged  in,  was  broken.  I  wandered  on  and  coming  to 
a  beautiful  grove  of  maples  and  willows  that  fringed  a 
stream  of  crystal  water,  I  sat  down  upon  a  rustic  seat 
and  was  lost  in  thought.  I  was  roused  from  my  reverie 
by  hearing  some  good  strong  voices,  backed  by  plenty 
of  flesh  and  blood,  singing  "I  will  sing  you  a  song  of 
that  beautiful  land,  the  far  away  home  of  the  soul." 

Presently  a  middle  aged  woman,  sobbing  violently, 
came  and  threw  herself  upon  the  seat  beside  me.  Her 
distress  seemed  so  great,  I  was  moved  to  sympathy. 

* '  Excuse  me,  lady, ' '  I  said  kindly,  ' '  is  there  anything 
that  I  can  do  to  help  you  in  any  way  ? ' ' 

"Oh  no,  no,"  she  sobbed,  "it  is  only  the  singing  of 
that  beautiful  hymn,  it  always  affects  me  in  this  way." 

"Indeed,  how  very  tragic,"  I  said,  wonderingly,  like 
a  child. 

"It  was  the  last  hymn  my  dear  brother  and  I  ever 
sang  together,"  she  continued,  "and  oh,  he  loved  it 
so  much  and  oh.  how  lonely  I  have  been  since  he  died 
three  years  ago." 

"But,  my  dear  lady,"  I  replied,  "if  your  brother  is 
dead,  he  must  be  here  some  where ;  why  do  you  not  try 
to  find  him,  instead  of  weeping  for  him?  You  must 
remember  that  you,  yourself,  are  dead." 

"I  dead!  I,  no  indeed!  I  am  just  as  much  alive  as 
I  ever  was.  Besides  he  is  an  angel." 

"Pardon  me,  lady,"  I  said  quietly,  "did  you  regard 
your  brother  as  an  angel  while  he  was  still  with  you?" 

"That  is  my  business,"  she  said  snappily,  "you  can- 
not fool  me ;  this  is  not  the  far  away  home  of  the  soul : 
this  is  not  a  glittering  strand;  here  are  no  harps,  nor 
crowns,  nor  angels." 

I  was  silent,  for  I  wanted  to  say  the  right  things 


126  SIFTED  THROUGH 

this  time  and  avoid  the  groans.  After  due  reflection  I 
replied,  ' '  It  is  true  that  I  have  seen  no  harps  nor  crowns 
— I  have  not  looked  for  any,  but  I  have  "seen  many 
angels,  and  so  could  you,  if  you  would  be  sensible  in 
your  idea  of  angels.  As  for  glittering  strands,  look  at 
the  river  yonder;  sparkling  in  the  sunlight,  darkening 
in  the  shade;  it  is  surely  beautiful  enough  for  any 
beauty-lover.  If  you  cannot  appreciate  the  beauty  all 
around  you,  how  can  you  expect  a  possible  greater  beautv 
somewhere  else  ?  As  for  the  far-away  home  of  the  soul, 
it  strikes  me  that  this  Here  and  Now  home  of  the  soul 
is  of  much  greater  importance  to  us  at  the  present  time. 
I  do  not  know  what  special  brand  of  religion  you  have, 
but  it  seems  to  me  that  it  is  either  woefully  lacking  in 
sense,  or  else  you  have  failed  to  extract  sense  from  it." 
The  woman  drew  herself  up  haughtily  and  said 
icily,  "Sir,  I  would  have  vou  know  that  I  am  a  member 
of  thp  First  Presbyterian  Church  of — ." 

"Then  I  would  advise  you  to  go  back  to  said  church, 
and  stav  a  spell,"  I  said,  and  pursued  my  journey 
thoughtfully. 

There  is  no  religion  under  heaven,  or  in  it,  I  mn«^. 
that  can  make  a  man  good ;  but  thev  all  can  help  a  little, 
if  he  has  it  in  him  to  want  to  be  good;  and  all  the 
religions  in  the  world,  put  together,  cannot  give  a  person 
good  sense  inside  him;  for  that  has  to  come  through 
experience  and  hard  knocks.  It  takes  something  more 
than  srood  intentions  to  kepp  a  body  out  of  trouble. 

"Good  intentions  pave  the  road  to  Hell,"  said  a  man's 
voice  beside  me,  "and  every  idle  word  a  man  speaks,  he 
shall  have  to  account  for  in  his  day  of  judgment.  Idle 
words  are  the  result  of  idle  thinking;  a  person  has  no 
risrht  to  permit  himself  to  think  useless,  foolish  thoughts, 
any  more  than  he  has  to  permit  himself  to  think  cruel  or 
vile  thoughts.  One  should  train  his  brain  to  become  a 
perfect  instrument  to  help  him  in  building  the  great^t 
good,  the  ideal.  If  he  is  too  lazy  to  do  this,  or  if  he  is 
such  an  animal,  that  he  cannot  control  his  thinking,  and 


A  CONNECTICUT  YANKEE  127 

is  blown  about  by  the  wind  of  conditions,  then  he  will 
have  to  learn  through  suffering.  Spiritually  minded 
people,  wise  people,  do  not  talk  much,  they  think.  In 
a  multitude  of  words  there  is  sin.'* 

I  concluded  that  it  was  a  good  time  for  me  to  avoid 
sin.    We  walked  on  in  silence,  at  last  I  paused  and  looked 
about  me.    "Where  are  we?"  I  asked. 

I 1  Come  and  see, ' '  said  my  new  teacher. 

We  entered  one  of  the  most  beautiful  gardens  I  ever 
saw.  Flowering  shrubs,  sweet  herbs  and  good  old- 
fashioned  flowers  grew  luxuriously  in  the  corners  and 
bordered  the  walks  everywhere. 

Cuddled  under  the  trees  were  homey  looking  cottages, 
with  flowering  vines  clambering  around  the  windows  and 
doors.  Each  looked  like  the  sort  of  home  that  one  dreams 
of  when,  far  away  from  his  home,  he  wearily  toils 
through  drifts  and  struggles  in  the  blinding,  whirling 
snow;  or,  lost  in  the  blackness  of  night,  and  drenched 
with  driving  rain  and  pierced  by  icy  winds,  he  prays 
for  home ;  the  sort  of  home  that  the  child  and  the  young 
girl  turn  to,  when  strange  forms  reach  out  long  arms 
from  the  darkness  of  the  unknown. 

An  aged  man  and  woman  came  to  meet  us.  Their 
forms  were  bent ;  their  hair  was  snowy  white,  but  their 
faces  were  radiant  with  a  happiness  such  as  one  rarely 
sees;  and  in  their  eyes  shone  the  light  of  perennial 
youth. 

''You  have  a  beautiful  place  here,"  I  said  to  them, 
"and  you  seem  very  happy." 

"0,  yes;"  said  the  man,  "Mary  Elizabeth  and  I 
walked  together  in  earth  life  fifty  years;  but  we  have 
just  learned  what  it  means  to  be  happy,  and  we  think 
we  are  beginning  to  know  what  life  means.  In  earth 
life  we  tried  to  find  happiness  and  we  studied  creeds 
and  theologies  and  isms  and  we  read  about  heaven  and 
hell  and  spirits,  angels  and  devils,  especially  the  ob- 
sessing ones,  and  I  don't  know  what  we  didn't  study; 
but  the  more  things  we  studied,  the  more  burdened  we 


128  SIFTED  THROUGH 

became,  until  we  felt  there  was  nothing  worth  while ; 
and  all  the  time  the  Master  was  calling  to  us,  '  *  Take  My 
yoke  upon  you,  for  My  yoke  is  easy  and  My  burden 
light, "  and  His  yoke  is  the  yoke  of  Love;  when  Love 
takes  up  a  load,  that  load  is  always  light  and,  oh,  the 
happiness  that  comes  in  the  carrying  of  it. 

The  Master  also  said,  "Suffer  little  children  to  come 
unto  me,  do  not  try  to  keep  them  away,  for  of  such  is 
the  Kingdom  of  Heaven."  He  also  said,  "Inasmuch  as 
you  have  done  it  unto  the  least  of  these,  you  have  done 
it  unto  me."  Come  and  see  how  we  are  interpreting 
those  words. 

We  followed  our  new  found  friends  across  the  wide 
green  lawn  and  through  the  alluring  garden.  The  air 
was  sweet  and  pure,  like  the  air  of  early  morning,  in  the 
early  springtime,  and  I  was  sure  that  I  caught  the  odor 
of  blue  violets  and  dandelions.  The  birds  were  flitting 
here  and  there  in  sunshine  and  shade,  singing  joyously, 
and  oh,  sweetest  music  of  all,  my  ears  caught  the  sound 
of  running  water.  Yes,  there  it  was,  the  little  brooklet 
so  dear  to  the  heart  of  childhood.  Gurgling  around  the 
great  gray  rocks,  roaring  and  splashing,  it  hurried  on  its 
way  like  youth  everywhere  eager  for  the  adventures 
awaiting  it  in  the  unexplored  regions  beyond;  those  re- 
gions where  we  conquer,  or  are  conquered. 

Speaking  in  low,  hushed  tones,  we  entered  one  by  one, 
the  many  little  white  cottages  and  gazed  upon  the  rows 
of  little  beds,  each  bed  containing  a  little  child,  sleeping 
peacefully.  Babes,  golden-haired,  brown-haired,  and 
flaxen-haired;  babes  with  plump  dimpled  faces,  and 
babes  with  wan,  pinched  faces,  aged  faces,  such  faces  the 
sight  of  which  causes  one  to  draw  his  breath  sharply, 
as  if  struck  a  hard  blow,  a  blow  that  makes  you  pause 
and  question  its  meaning. 

The  doors  and  windows  were  all  wide  open  and  the 
cool  sweet  air  of  the  early  morning  was  wafted  over 
the  little  sleepers.  The  rooms  were  simply  but  beauti- 
fully furnished ;  every  suggestion,  both  within  and  with- 


A  CONNECTICUT  YANKEE  129 

out,  was  ideal,  the  blending  of  the  beautiful  and  prac- 
tical, artistic  and  useful,  that  one  so  rarely  finds.  As 
we  were  leaving  the  last  cottage,  Mary  Elizabeth 
beckoned  to  me ;  bending  over  the  little  bed,  we  saw  the 
golden-haired  sleeper,  holding  safely  clutched  in  one 
chubby  fist,  a  bunch  of  blue  violets. 

Out  in  the  garden  once  more,  Mary  Elizabeth  with 
her  pure  motherly  face  aglow  with  tenderness,  drew 
me  aside  and  said,  "We  have  gathered  them  in  from  the 
darkness  of  shame  and  suffering  and  neglect  and  direst 
poverty.  Poor  starved,  ill-treated  babes  they  were ;  many 
of  them  with  misshapen  bodies;  compelled  to  toil  and 
hunger,  they  never  knew  the  meaning  of  love  and  kind- 
ness; but  now  they  are  so  happy  and  full  of  wonder. 
When  the  Master  comes,  by  and  by,  how  pleased  He 
will  be,  will  He  not?" 

From  somewhere  floated  the  repeated  refrain,  "Where 
the  years  of  eternity  roll."  A  light  fell  full  upon  the 
face  of  Mary  Elizabeth  and  was  reflected  upon  mine, 
and  this  thought  came  to  me,  what  constitutes  Eternity 
but  living  in  the  consciousness  of  eternal  things?  Of 
that  which  is  self-existent,  which  death  has  no  power 
over  ?  All  that  live  in  this  consciousness  have  found  the 
fountain  of  perennial  youth,  and  they  can  in  triumph 
sing,  "0  grave,  where  is  thy  victory,  0  death,  where  is 
thy  sting?" 

I  turned  to  Mary  Elizabeth,  "Yes,"  I  said,  "when 
the  Master  comes,  He  will  indeed  be  glad. ' ' 

— S.C. 


130  SIFTED  THROUGH 

AT  LAST 

When  the  last  weary  soul  has  been  folded 

All  safe  in  the  Kingdom  of  God ; 
When  the  roses  your  fingers  have  planted, 

Shall  bloom  by  the  paths  you  have  trod ; 

When  all  sorrow  and  pain  shall  be  vanquished, 

And  mortals  rejoice  at  Death's  call, 
When  from  the  freed  spirit's  awakening 

Is  banished  the  dirge  and  the  pall ; 

When  earth  from  its  shadows  awakened, 

In  beauty  and  peace  shall  be  glad, 
When  the  last  prison  door  has  been  opened, 

And  Life  can  no  longer  make  sad ; 

When  the  white  mist  that  floats  o'er  the  meadows, 
Wafts  no  more  the  fever's  hot  breath , 

When  the  moon-spangled  roll  of  the  billows, 
Shall  tell  not  of  sorrow  nor  death; 

When  the  desert  in  beauty  shall  blossom, 

And  wild  beasts  together  shall  rest; 
When  the  valley  in  glory  exalted 

The  mountain  shall  fold  to  her  breast ; 

The  Workers,  with  rejoicing  and  honor, 

Victorious,  shall  find  their  release, 
And  one  with  the  Father  forever, 

Shall  rest  through  the  aeons  of  Peace. 

—I.  L.  B. 


Photomount 
Pamphlet 

Binder 
Gaylord  Bros. 

Makers 
Syracuse,  N.  Y. 

PH.  JAN  21,  1901 


YC 


15782 


5345)06 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


